Creating a secure supply of natural gas and reliable power for Southern Iraq and beyond
Rehabilitating existing facilities and developing new natural gas infrastructure across Basra.
Key information
- Location:
- Iraq
- Date started:
- 2016
- Completion date:
- Ongoing
- Client type:
- Natural resources
- Main services:
- Cost and commercial management
Client's requirements
There is currently enough natural gas in Basra Province to supply the whole of southern Iraq and more. This will provide the country with secure and reliable power that is a fundamental need of any modern society - for lighting, air conditioning and refrigeration in homes, and the power businesses need to grow and create jobs.
But Basra Province’s existing natural gas infrastructure was in urgent need of rehabilitation after 30 years of sanctions and conflict. New infrastructure is also required to further increase production of this valuable fuel for social and economic development.
In 2013, the Iraqi Government established Basrah Gas Company (BGC), a public/private joint venture made up of South Gas Company, the majority shareholder (51 percent), Shell (44 percent) and Mitsubishi (5 percent). Its role is to capture and process associated gas that used to be flared from three oilfields, Rumaila, Zubair and West Qurna 1.
In less than five years BGC tripled the gas production and prevented 70Mt of Co2 emissions from entering the atmosphere and is now accelerating its growth programme to reach 1.4 bscf/d.
The key outcomes of the BGC growth programme include rehabilitating compressor stations, natural gas liquids (NGL) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) processing plants and associated pipelines, rehabilitating the Umm Qasr storage and marine terminal for export of LPG and condensate, and developing a new NGL plant and new compressor stations.
Our contribution
Through our cost and commercial management services we have facilitated increased collaboration between the engineering, supply chain, construction and corporate functions, leading to improved processes related to construction framework contracts.
We’ve also introduced improved cost assurance techniques including detailed invoice and cost verification exercises, which has increased confidence in expenditure and identified significant savings at all worksites.
Making the difference
In line with the BGC’s strategy we are actively recruiting Iraqi nationals, and working with RICS to develop and deliver a structured training programme for the local talent pool, supporting the Iraqi Government's nationalisation goal.