Hydrocarborn liquids and gases have been known in Iraq for thousands years ago. A well-illustrating example is the Eternal Fire in Kirkuk which is continuously fed by natural gas escaping through fractures from the famous Kirkuk oil field.
During the early years of exploration carried out in the country at the beginning of the twentieth century, gas was encountered as gas in solution in association with oil or in the form of gas caps overlying oil reservoirs as well as in free form independent of oil reservoirs.
The firs discovery of free gas was struck in Anfal (Kor Mor) field in the northeast of Iraq in 1928. More gas discoveries were made during the quests for oil and several gas caps were found particularly in the northeastern fields.
Although exploration in Iraq started earlier than most of the oil producing countries in the Middle East and North Africa, the country is still the least explored among the big producers.
More that (200) structures having a high degree of certainty out of the (514) confirmed structural anomalies and leads are yet to be drilled.
None of the discovered free gas fields were developed for gas production partly due to the abundance of associated gas as compared with the meager gas demand which is a reflection of the light industrial base of the country that continued until the seventies.
The country then witnessed a rapid expansion in industrialization and power generation that necessitated a similar expansion in the utilization of gas to fuel and feed various industrial projects constructed throughout the country.
The paper reviews the proven gas reserves and their classification and distribution.
A summary of the recent evaluation of undiscovered gas reserves is also given.
Thamir Abbas Ghadhban And Saadallag Al-Fathi - Ministry of Oil – Iraq
Source: oapecorg.org
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
