Iraq taps China for seawater project to sustain oilfields

Shafaq News – Baghdad

Iraq signed a contract on Monday with China
Petroleum Pipeline Engineering (CPP) to build a 950-km pipeline network that
will deliver treated seawater to southern oilfields, Oil Minister Hayan Abdul
Ghani said.

In a statement, Abdul Ghani explained that
the project will launch with a capacity of 5M barrels per day (bpd), supplying
fields such as Rumaila, Zubair, West Qurna 1 and 2, and Majnoon, with later
extensions to Maysan and Dhi Qar. Capacity could eventually expand to 7–8M bpd.

Abdul Ghani described the plan as
strategic, underscoring that seawater injection is vital to maintaining
pressure in Iraq’s aging reservoirs. “Channeling seawater for industry
would free river and groundwater resources for farming and household use.”

The initiative is part of a broader $27B
agreement signed with France’s TotalEnergies in 2023 to capture flared gas,
expand renewable projects, and boost production at the Ratawi field.

Iraq, OPEC’s second-largest producer,
depends on oil for more than 90% of state income. Experts warn that without
large-scale water injection, output from its southern fields risks a steep
decline, making the new pipeline central to long-term production and fiscal
stability.

Read more: Without oil: Iraq’s economic future hanging in the balance.