Zaidi tells French firms Iraq will double oil capacity to 10 million barrels a day

PARIS — Iraq plans to raise crude production capacity from 4.8 million barrels a day to 10 million within five years, Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi told executives from leading French companies in Paris, the first time the government has given a starting point for the target.

Zaidi met the executives at his residence, describing France as a trusted strategic partner and setting out opportunities in “the economy, energy, industry, infrastructure, pharmaceutical industries, railways and other sectors,” his office said. He promoted the Development Road project as an international route for supply chains, and said he and President Emmanuel Macron had agreed to prepare a Baghdad-Paris conference in the Iraqi capital.

The expansion would come with projects to capture and develop associated gas, along with opportunities in sulfur, phosphate, silica, petrochemicals and infrastructure, he said. The target is part of the 2027-2030 strategy he reviewed with Oil Ministry officials on Sept. 1.

It is a long way from current output. Iraq exported about 2 million barrels a day in August, its highest since shipping through the Strait of Hormuz was disrupted in March, using deep discounts and a system that transfers crude to larger tankers outside the strait, against roughly 3.3 to 3.5 million before the disruption.

TotalEnergies told Zaidi during the visit that its investments in Iraq total $12 billion and could reach $16 billion. The company is building the Gas Growth Integrated Project in Basra and the 1,000-megawatt Basra Sun solar plant, and agreed to open talks on further large-scale investments. An economic forum brought about 50 French companies together on energy security, infrastructure, industry, defence, services and healthcare, and the two governments reached understandings on development financing, civil aviation, research and innovation.