Sözcü Newspaper / Bora Can Yıldız: "Iraq has 500 billion worth gas; however, it does not have any facility to process it”

Stating that they are hopeful about Iraq’s future, Bora Can Yıldız said: “The bureaucratic difficulties are natural in a country going through reconstruction. However, the companies entering in the region must have a strong financial balance”.

Bora Can Yıldız, the member of Istanbul Young Entrepreneurs’ Association (ISGID), addressed a speech in Iraq Energy Projects Conference held in Dubai by the MEED (Middle East Business Intelligence) and said that $ 1 trillion of investment was needed in the short term for the reconstruction of Iraq. Stating that the second richest oil reserves of the world as well as the tenth richest natural gas resources of the world are located in Iraq, Yıldız said: “Almost twice the production amount is burnt off in Iraq just because there is not enough production facility. They import one third of their gas need. With a $ 40 billion worth investment, $ 500 billion revenue can be gained. Iraq is a grand market for the Turkish entrepreneurs. It is possible to get 10 TL for 1 TL worth investment. If you respect the values of the local people while you are making your investments there, you will succeed; otherwise, it may turn into a disaster for those acting with gold rush logic. The Turkish investors constitute the most loved group in Iraq at the moment. They think that we are really related”.

200 billion barrel worth reserves
Thamir Abbas, the Chairman of the Committee in Iraqi Parliament and former Minister of Oil stated that until 2017, they would reach 13 million barrels per day according to the high production scenario, and 9 million barrels according to the medium production scenario. Adnan Al-Janabi, the Chairman of Energy and Oil Committee, said that the oil reserves in Iraq reached 200 billion barrels, and $ 1 trillion would be spent on the reconstruction of Iraq, provided that $ 500 billion of which would be spent on the oil and energy infrastructure. He explained that they aim for a capacity of 1.5 million barrels a day as the refinery capacity, and they aim for a capacity of 20 GW as the electricity generation.