Baghdad:Iraq’s Oil Minister Bassem Mohammed Khudair Al-Abadi participated in the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Basra Oil Company and U.S. energy company ExxonMobil. The agreement focuses on advancing the second phase of a project aimed at utilizing and investing in seawater resources.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, the MoU aims to support oil fields and maintain reservoir pressure through the seawater utilization project, which has a capacity of up to 2.5 million barrels per day.

The minister emphasized that this project would complement another seawater development initiative being undertaken by French energy giant TotalEnergies, which plans a capacity of 5 million barrels per day.

Al-Abadi highlighted that the initiative is part of the government’s and the Ministry of Oil’s strategy to attract international energy companies, develop Iraq’s oil industry, sustain production operations, and boost output. He noted that the agreement indicates an attractive investment environment in Iraq, conducive to promising projects.

In addition, the minister mentioned that the ministry has signed memoranda of understanding with several U.S. companies, including Chevron and ExxonMobil, to leverage advanced technologies and expertise. Al-Abadi also pointed out that the implementation of such projects is expected to create employment opportunities for Iraqi workers and support the development of service-related projects.