In an effort to create a more stable generation of electricity in Kurdistan, the Kurdish Regional Government has entered a new deal that will ultimately boost its natural gas production. The Ministry of Natural Resources, partnered with Dana Gas, informed the public that KRG has signed a sales agreement with Pearl Patroleum for a 10-year supply of natural gas production, this will increase the supplied amount by 25 percent. The Natural Resources Minister, Dr. Ashti Hawrami, stated that, “We are pleased to see the further commitment of expansion and investment by the companies and the anticipated growth in gas supplies will make a positive contribution to the growing domestic needs for more electricity,” Dana Gas adding that the increase in supply will, “deliver much needed gas to fuel additional affordable power generation for the benefit of the local population and Iraq as a whole.”

Crescent Petroleum and Dana Gas lead the Pearl Petroleum association, they aim to boost natural gas production at their refineries in the Chemchemal and Khor Mor regions bay another 125 percent over the next 2 years. Majid Jafar, who is Board Managing Director of Dana Gas and CEO of Crescent Petroleum, Stated that the deal, “marks an important milestone in our tenth year of continuous production, and the beginning of a new chapter of expansion in operations and production which will see a further investment of over $600 million over the coming few years and a more than doubling of production,” and his associations production efforts have, “led to significant fuel savings and social and economic value for the economy.” It is his hope that through this new agreement they will promote economic growth exponentially for the Iraqi-Kurdistan autonomous region over the next few years while simultaneously financially benefiting as a corporation. Dana Gas’s CEO, Dr. Patrick Allman-Ward, has stated that Kurdistan’s largest investor in terms of natural gas is Pearl Petroleum. There is potentially 200 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves contained within Kurdistan.

This new development in an effort to stabilizing Kurdistan’s rampant electrical situation may be the the sigh of relief Kurdish citizens have been waiting for. Currently Kurdistan is plagued by rolling power outages that on occasion occur hourly. Essential infrastructure and military installations must be kept on a separate supply of power via a backup generator for when the region wide blackouts occur. Power banks are absolutely essential for Kurdish citizens that operate personal computers and electronics if they expect to avoid software issues. This affliction includes hospitals and parliament facilities such as the ones operated by the Kurdish Regional Government. If all goes smoothly and people within positions of authority resist the urge to misuse the benefits of this new deal, the region and its residents could finally be entering a new age and direction that would work towards modernizing Kurdistan.

Featured Image Courtesy of  USACE  via Wikimedia Commons