The first phase of the gas project in southern Iraq is expected to initially produce 50 million cubic feet a day (mcf/d) within the next year, the prime minister's office said.
Besides raising production at the Ratawi southern oilfield, the deal consists of a 1 GW solar power plant, a 600 mcf/d gas processing facility, and a sea water supply project key to boosting Iraq's southern oil production.
Iraq flares much of its own gas, extracted alongside crude oil at its fields, because it lacks the facilities to process it into fuel and instead uses Iranian power imports to generate electricity.
