ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Iraq’s Oil Minister Basim Mohammed Khudair on Tuesday said that a high-level Baghdad delegation has discussed four major energy projects with French companies during a conference in Paris, as part of Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s official visit.

The projects include the development of the Artawi field with a planned capacity of 210,000 barrels per day, and capturing gas from five different fields with a capacity of 600 million standard cubic feet per day - which will be completed in two phases of 300 million cubic feet each, Khudair said.

The third project involves using seawater injection to stabilize pressure in depleted oil reservoirs, and the fourth is a solar power project with an estimated capacity of 1,000 megawatts.

“French companies, including Total, are among the major international companies working with Iraq in the promising Artawi field,” the minister said.

Khudair is part of Zaidi’s delegation in Paris. They arrived in the French capital on Monday as part of a broader European tour that will see the Iraqi premier and his entourage also visit Germany, where he is set to meet with Chancellor Friederich Merz.

During a conference with the companies undertaking the projects, Zaidi “emphasized that the government will work to remove all obstacles to optimal investment in Iraq.”

Zaidi’s government has prioritized maintaining balanced relations with partners and countries around the world as a central aspect of its foreign policy, while refraining from engaging in or taking sides in regional conflicts and tensions.

He carried out his first overseas trip as prime minister in July, with a five-day visit to the US, where he met with President Donald Trump and signed several agreements with American companies.

Shortly after the US, the premier visited both Iran and Turkey, meeting with leaders from both countries, including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. The two trips saw the signing of numerous MoUs.

Finance Minister Faleh al-Sari hailed the France visit as “successful”, adding that French President Emmanuel Macron expressed readiness to open frameworks for future cooperation

“The visit to France comes within the framework of Iraq's move towards its external environment and strengthening cooperation with important countries in the world, including France, Germany and the United States of America,” Sari said.