Recently, Iraq's Halfaya Gas Processing Plant (GPP) was officially put into operation, marking another solid step in the cooperation between China and Iraq in the field of energy. On June 8, the commissioning ceremony was grandly held at the Halfaya Oilfield. Iraqi Prime Minister Sudani, Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister and Oil Minister Hayan and China National Petroleum Corporation Chairman Dai Houliang attended the ceremony and turned the valve together to witness this historic moment.

At the commissioning ceremony, China National Petroleum Corporation Chairman Dai Houliang delivered an enthusiastic speech. He said that the commissioning of the Halfaya Gas Processing Plant is not only an important milestone in the development of the Halfaya Oilfield, but also a new starting point for further deepening the energy cooperation between China and Iraq. China National Petroleum Corporation will continue to uphold the principle of mutual benefit and win-win, work closely with all partners, jointly promote the sustainable development of the Halfaya Oilfield, and contribute to the energy security and economic development of Iraq and the entire region.

It is understood that the Halfaya Gas Processing Plant Project is one of the important strategic projects for the development of Iraq's natural gas industry, and is also another important achievement of the friendly cooperation between China and Iraq under the framework of the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative. The project is invested by China Petroleum (Iraq) Halfaya Company, and the China Petroleum Engineering Member Enterprise Engineering Construction Company (CPECC) is responsible for the project's EPCC (design, procurement, construction and commissioning) and two-year operation and maintenance general contracting work.

The project is located in the eastern part of the Halfaya Oilfield, close to the Halfaya CPF2 and the main power station of the oilfield, and the plant covers an area of 500,000 square meters. The plant is mainly responsible for processing the associated gas and condensate of the three central processing stations of the Halfaya Oilfield. Its natural gas design processing capacity is 3 billion cubic meters/year, and its condensate processing capacity is 950,000 tons/year. After processing, the main products include 2.25 billion cubic meters/year of clean natural gas, 870,000 tons/year of liquefied petroleum gas, 910,000 tons/year of carbon five + light hydrocarbons, and 15,000 tons/year of sulfur.

The commissioning of the Halfaya Gas Processing Plant is of great significance to the energy security and economic development of Iraq and the entire region. First, it will effectively improve Iraq's natural gas processing capacity, meet the country's growing energy demand, and help ease the tight energy supply situation. Secondly, the project will create a large number of jobs for Iraq and drive the development and prosperity of the local economy. At the same time, with the production of products such as clean natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas, it will effectively promote the optimization and upgrading of Iraq's energy structure and promote environmental protection and sustainable development.

For China and Iraq, the commissioning of the Halfaya Natural Gas Processing Plant has opened a new chapter in energy cooperation. China and Iraq have always maintained a close cooperative relationship in the energy field and jointly promoted the construction and development of a series of major projects. The successful commissioning of the Halfaya Natural Gas Processing Plant not only reflects the deep friendship and mutual trust between China and Iraq in the energy field, but also lays a more solid foundation for future cooperation between the two countries.Editor/Li Chunwen