The government of Iraq has awarded six explorations blocks in the fifth bidding round for gas exploration contracts near the borders with Iran and Kuwait and in offshore Gulf waters. The fifth bidding round launched in 2018 initially offered 11 blocks, but five of the exploration blocks failed to attract any bids. Three blocks were awarded to Crescent Petroleum (Iraq-United Arab Emirates), two to Geo-Jade (China) and one to United Energy Group (Hong Kong). The exploration contracts in Diyala province (east of the country) are aimed at developing fields that should produce more than 750 mcf (21 mcm) of natural gas within three years.
Oil production in Iraq has been increasing rapidly since 2010 (15%/year), with a major increase in 2016 (+30%) and reached 230 Mt in 2018. This rise was mainly due to an increased output at fields in southern Iraq and in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, which more than offset disrupted volumes in the north.
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