Rosneft plans to sign an agreement with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on financing the construction of a gas pipeline infrastructure by the end of 2017. Future investments in the project will be implemented under the BOOT (Build-Own-Operate-Transfer) process. The commissioning of the facility and the first domestic supplies are planned for 2019 and export supplies by 2020. The pipeline throughput capacity is expected to handle up to 30 bcm/y for gas export, in addition to the supply of gas to the domestic users (mostly power plants and factories). The gas will be exported to Turkey and Europe. The transaction amount has not been disclosed but the deal would be valued at more than US$1bn.
The KRG struggles to develop its large gas reserves, which can require more investment to be developed on a longer-term scale. The arrival of Rosneft in the region has sped up the process. In June 2017, the company and the KRG signed production-sharing agreements (PSAs) for five oil blocks.