The Iraqi Ministry of Oil has signed a contract with a consortium comprising China's Geo-Jade Petroleum and Iraq's Crescent Basra for the development of the South Basra Integrated Project. The project notably includes increasing oil production at the Al-Tubba field, in southern Iraq, from 20 kb/d to 100 kb/d, as well as the construction of a high-specification refinery with a capacity of 200 kb/d.
In addition, the agreement includes the establishment of a petrochemical plant with an capacity of 620 kt/year, the building of a fertiliser plant producing 520 kt/year annually, the development of a 650 MW thermal power plant and of a 400 MW solar power plant. Electricity produced from the project will be fed into Iraq’s national grid.
Geo-Jade Petroleum plans to invest about US$848m in the South Basra integrated project. The Chinese company had won a bid in 2024 to develop the Jabal Sanam oil field and the Zurbatiya oil and gas field in Iraq.