By Aref Mohammed
BASRA, Iraq, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Iraq expects to more thantriple exports of liquefied petroleum gas, and to double exportsof gas condensates in 2017 as it collects more of these fuels atits southern oilfields, the head of the state-run South GasCompany said.
LPG exports are set to increase to 100,000 tonnes this year,from 30,000 tonnes in 2016, South Gas director general IhsanAbdul Jabbar said in an interview with Reuters on Sunday.
Gas condensate exports are set to rise to 400,000 cubicmetres this year, from 200,000 cubic metres in 2016, he said,speaking at the company's headquarters in Basra, southern Iraq.
He gave no figures for the value of the exports.
Iraq started exporting gas liquids, processed by the BasrahGas Company, a joint venture between South Gas, Shell and Mitsubishi, last year. Abdul Jabbar is alsochairman of Basrah Gas.
The company collects gas associated with oil produced fromfields in southern Iraq, processing it into fuel for powerplants, cooking gas and liquids for exports.
Basrah Gas will be able to capture more associated gas as thegovernment has resumed payments to the company for the fuelpurchased to supply the local market, Abdul Jabbar said.
The government payments will allow the company to invest inexpanding its gas capture and processing capacity, using more ofthe gas that is currently being flared.
The Iraqi government, which relies almost exclusively on oilincome, has struggled to pay its bills since crude pricesdropped in 2014, the same year Islamic State militants seized athird of the country's territory.
Total gas production from southern Iraq should exceed 900million cubic feet per day by the end of the year, from 700,000million cubic feet per day at the end of 2016, Abdul Jabbarsaid. (Writing by Maher Chmaytelli in Baghdad; Editing by AdrianCroft)
