Iraq is discussing an energy agreement worth $7bn with the French oil and gas company Total, according to Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar.

Speaking in an interview on Asharq News, he said that the deal would include the development of large infrastructure installations, the development of oil fields and the production of gas.

Abdul Jabbar said that he expected the contract to be finalised before July and the relationship with Total will be based on targeting the low-carbon industry and capturing flared gas.

The first phase of the deal will install one gigawatt of solar energy capacity in the first stage.

A specialised team from the Oil Ministry is leading the discussions with Total, according to Abdul Jabbar.

“The agreement is giant, and the volume of the investment exceeds $7bn,” he said.

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Abdul Jabbar said conditions, including the political and administrative decisions for the economic model that protects the rights of both parties, had been agreed already.

In January, Iraq signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Total chief executive Patrick Pouyanne on capturing natural gas, clean energy and infrastructure.

Talks between Iraq and Total were first reported in October.

Iraq is also expected to sign a deal for an export pipeline from the southern province of Basra to Jordan’s Aqba port on the Red Sea, according to Abdul Jabbar.

The minister said that a framework agreement could be signed before mid-April.

He said that Iraq will lower its gasoline and diesel imports by 50% in 2021 and by 90% in 2022.

Iraqi gas output currently stands at 1.5 billion standard cubic feet a day (cf/d) and will reach 4 billion cf/d in 2025, Abdul Jabbar said.

Click here to learn more! Mena Oil & Gas 2021 report from MEED Insight 

This article is published by MEED, the world’s leading source of business intelligence about the Middle East. MEED provides exclusive news, data and analysis on the Middle East every day. For access to MEED’s Middle East business intelligence, subscribe here.