ABSTRACT
Maximizing the value of a significant gas resource base in southern Iraq for all key stakeholders is complex, driven by a number of key challenges on both the supply and demand-side of field development. The majority of the future gas supply in the south of Iraq will come from associated gas from some of the world's largest oil fields including Rumeila, West Qurna and Zubair). Successfully utilising the gas for industrial and domestic supply requires integration across upstream, midstream and downstream business segments and cooperation between multiple parties from the Government of Iraq (GoI) and the field operator contractor consortiums in Iraq.
Some of the main challenges that the Iraq Oil & Gas industry faces today are lower commodity prices impacting the availability of investment capital, weak fiscal incentives for gas production, inadequate integrated gas infrastructure development, limited cross-industry gas planning and coordination & limited new exploration activity. The above issues also cary an overlay of environmental and security conditions, meaning that fully integrated development planning and decision framework modelling needs to be at the core of mapping the most attractive way forward for future investments.
This paper presents an integrated workflow approach that allows modelling & assessment of the impact of technical as well as non-technical risks and uncertainties in a systematic manner along the value chain at a number of different nodes. This model follows the hydrocarbon molecules from the reservoir through to the downstream petrochemical plant enabling assessment of a potential range of scenarios across upstream, midstream and downstream.
In a region where uncertainties go far beyond the technical domain, this approach allows decision makers to navigate through the potential outcomes and formulate integrated roadmaps and development strategies. It also identifies the benefits of an integrated development approach across fields developed by different contractor consortiums. The workflow facilitates;
Analysis of the current gas landscape and identification of priorities, with a focus on what could be done to increase gas supply in the short to medium term;
A vision for longer term gas industry development and provides guidance on nature and timing for future infrastructure required to realize this vision
Identification of key enablers to expedite gas growth in the wider southern Iraq area.
