Pearl Petroleum plans $10.2 billion gas investment in Iraqi Kurdistan

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Pearl Petroleum is planning a $10.2 billion investment to develop the Khor Mor and Chemchemal gas fields in Iraq's Kurdistan Region between 2026 and 2035, according to an environmental and social impact assessment shared by the company with Rudaw. The investment would raise natural gas production at the Sulaymaniyah-based fields from 750 million cubic feet per day to 1.65 billion cubic feet per day, the assessment said. Pearl Petroleum, which entered the Kurdistan Region in 2007, has already spent more than $3.9 billion on gas infrastructure and supplies most of the fuel used for electricity generation in the area. The company said the planned development would create thousands of jobs, strengthen local supply chains and reduce Iraq's dependence on imported energy. Higher gas output is also expected to support supply security as electricity demand rises across the country. Pearl Petroleum's principal partner is Gulf-based Crescent Petroleum, founded by the Jafar family. Once completed, the project is described in the assessment as one of the largest private-sector energy investments in Iraq's history.