Sulphur 419 Jul-Aug 2025
16 July 2025
CPECC to build Ar-Ratawi gas processing plant
TotalEnergies has awarded the China Petroleum Engineering & Construction Corporation (CPECC) the engineering, procurement, supply, construction and commissioning (EPSCC) contract to build its new Ar-Ratawi gas processing plant in Iraq. CPECC subsidiary China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering will build two midstream gas pipelines connecting the Majnoon and West Qurna 2 oilfields to Artawi-based processing plant. The planned gas pipeline infrastructure comprises a 114-kilometre sour gas pipeline built with 26-inch diameter pipes, an 83-kilometre, 20-inch sour gas pipeline, and an 83-kilometre, 20-inch sour gas pipeline. The awards form part of the TotalEnergies-led Gas Growth Integrated Project (GGIP) in Iraq, which is valued at $10 billion.
Signed in 2021, the GGIP project features four sub-projects led by a consortium comprising TotalEnergies (45%), Basrah Oil Company (30%) and QatarEnergy (25%), and includes:
• The Associated Gas Upstream Development (AGUP), which aims to develop production from the Ratawi field by upgrading the existing facilities to reach a capacity of 120,000 bbl/d during phase 1, followed by 210,000 bbl/d during phase 2 by building a new plant.
• The Ar-Ratawi Gas Midstream Project (GMP), which aims to eliminate flaring and recover the gas from several oil fields. Collected and processed, the gas will then be transported by pipeline to supply the local power plants, thereby improving the electricity supply to this region, which is regularly affected by power cuts. Until the commissioning of the GMP, scheduled in 2028, the ArtawiGas25 Project will reduce flaring on the Ratawi field from the end of 2025, followed by the neighbouring Maj-noon and West Qurna fields. Eliminating flaring at these three fields represents a reduction of approximately 6 million tons of CO2 per year.
• The Common Seawater Supply Project (CSSP), which involves building a seawater treatment plant between the ports of Khor Zubair and Umm Qasr. The plant will be capable of treating 5 million barrels of water per day during phase 1. The filtered water will be piped to the Zubair, Rumaila, Majnoon, West Qurna and Ar-Ratawi fields to maintain pressure in the fields. It will replace the fresh water currently drawn from the rivers and groundwater. This project will reduce water stress in the area and free up 250,000 cubic meters of fresh water per day for irrigation and local agricultural needs.
