UAE’s Crescent Petroleum to invest in natural gas and oil blocks in Iraq

Crescent Petroleum plans to spend hundreds of millions of dollars exploring for natural gas and oil in Iraq, as the country steps up efforts to boost foreign investment in its energy sector.

The company, based in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, is set to develop three blocks in eastern and southern Iraq, the first of which will be able to produce between 150-250 million cubic feet a day of gas, according to Crescent’s executive director for exploration and production, Abdulla al-Qadi.

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“The initial plan will start with a fast track gas output from Khashim Al Ahmr-Injana in Diyala province in the east,” he said in an interview in Baghdad. “We expect within 18 months from contract signing to start first gas production.”

Crescent already operates in Kurdistan in the north of Iraq, pumping about 500 million cubic feet per day. It hopes to boost output by 50 percent by next year, al-Qadi said.

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