QatarEnergy could get a 20-25% stake in the USD 27 bn cluster of energy projects in Iraq it has been eyeing, Bassem Abdul Karim, head of Iraq’s state-owned oil and gas producer Basra Oil Company (BOC), told Reuters last week. The projects, which are jointly owned by France’s TotalEnergies and the Iraqi government, include a planned 1 GW solar plant.

Iraq wants to own the lion’s share of the energy projects: Iraq is planning to hold a 40% stake in the project, while QatarEnergy is eyeing a 30% stake, Abdul Karim said, without disclosing the size of the stake TotalEnergies is planning to retain. “We determine our percentage as an Iraqi country, and the rest is for Total and QatarEnergy… I don't expect more than 20-25%, they are talking about 30%,” he said, referring to Qatar’s potential stake.

The country wants to ramp up its solar energy generation: Iraq wants to produce 5 GW of solar power in 2023, Electricity Minister Adel Karim said recently. The country signed solar power agreements over the past two years with several companies, lining up a total generation capacity of 7.5 GW.