Iraq has given final approval to the Akkas gas field development project in the Western Desert in Anbar Province near the border with eastern Syria.

Korea Gas Corp. will submit a development plan within 6 months for the field, estimated to contain 5.68 tscf of initial gas in place (OGJ, Oct. 3, 2011, p. 86). Development work may not begin for a year or more, press reports said.

Kogas has 75% interest in Akkas, and Iraq’s state North Oil Co. has 25%. Early exploratory drilling in the area dates to the early 1990s.