Masrour Barzani Expansion of the Khor Moor gas field increases electricity production and creates many job opportunities

Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani has welcomed a financial agreement between the UAE-based Dana Gas and the United States to expand gas production in the autonomous region, saying that this will also create job opportunities in the region.

Earlier the day, Dana Gas said in a statement that it had "signed a $250 million financing agreement with the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to support the gas expansion works currently underway at the Khor Mor gas plant in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI)."

"I am delighted to hear that @DFCgov's agreement with Dana Gas has secured $250m to expand the KRI’s Khor Mor gas plant," PM Barzani wrote on Twitter. "This will increase our production of clean, cheap electricity; and create many jobs here in Kurdistan so we can build a better future for our homeland."

The statement by Dana Gas further noted that the project is "the largest regional private sector upstream gas operation in Iraq," also citing Majid Ja’far, CEO of Crescent Petroleum and Board Managing Director of Dana Gas, as saying: "This financing agreement with DFC underscores the importance of developing the natural gas resources in the KRI to support regional economic development and growth. Despite the global challenges presented by the COVID pandemic, we have continued to maintain our record of uninterrupted operations and even managed to grow production. The DFC agreement is a testament to our successful track record and further highlights the potential of these resources and the bright future for the KRI."

Meanwhile, Patrick Allman-Ward, CEO of Dana Gas, said that they are "proud" to be further developing the gas sector of the Kurdistan Region as well as delivering an expanded supply of cleaner energy while supporting local economic development, and reaffirming that the agreement underscores their continued confidence in the region and its long-term prospects.

Dev Jagadesan, Acting CEO of DFC, said: "DFC’s investment in the Khor Mor expansion will substantially increase access to energy for people all across the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. This highly developmental project represents the United States’ continuing investment in the KRI."

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