BY : Shatha kalel
The launch of full drilling operations at Iraq’s Akkas gas field marks a long delayed milestone in the country’s effort to strengthen domestic energy production, but its geopolitical significance may be even greater than its economic promise. Led by U.S. oilfield services company Schlumberger in partnership with Iraq’s state owned Midland Oil, the project has been interpreted by some analysts as a possible signal of Baghdad edging closer to Washington and away from long standing reliance on Iran, China, and Russia. Whether Akkas represents a genuine strategic realignment or simply a short term adjustment within Iraq’s traditionally multi directional foreign policy remains an open question.
Discovered in 1992, the Akkas field is estimated to contain roughly 5.6 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves. Initial development focuses on rapidly bringing production to around 100 million standard cubic feet per day, with later phases targeting four times that amount. Crucially, the gas is intended for domestic power generation, supplying nearby power stations and eventually feeding into Iraq’s national grid, which for decades has depended heavily on Iranian gas and electricity imports. Iraqi officials have framed Akkas as a test case for a broader national strategy aimed at building energy sovereignty and stabilizing a power sector that has long undermined political legitimacy and economic recovery.
Energy dependence on Iran has been one of the central constraints shaping Iraq’s external relationships. At various points, imports from Iran have accounted for a substantial share of Iraq’s electricity supply, forcing Baghdad to repeatedly seek U.S. sanctions waivers while simultaneously assuring Washington that diversification efforts were underway. Critics in the United States have argued that this arrangement also created opportunities for Tehran to blur the origin of oil exports and circumvent international sanctions, particularly in fields that straddle the Iran Iraq border where geological continuity makes production difficult to distinguish. Such practices, combined with ship to ship transfers and altered documentation, have allowed Iranian crude to reach international markets despite formal restrictions, complicating U.S. efforts to pressure Tehran economically.
Akkas’s location magnifies its strategic weight. Situated near the Syrian border in Anbar province, the field lies along routes historically used for moving goods, energy supplies, and armed groups across western Iraq toward the Mediterranean. Analysts have linked this corridor to Iran’s long discussed “land bridge” concept connecting Tehran to Lebanon and Syria, which would strengthen logistical access to regional allies and proxy forces. Control and development of infrastructure in this area therefore carry implications that extend far beyond power generation, touching directly on regional security calculations involving Israel, the United States, and Gulf states.
These dynamics help explain why China and Russia have long sought influence in western and southern Iraq’s energy triangle stretching from Mansuriya near the Iranian border to Siba in the south and Akkas in the west. For Beijing, Iraqi gas and oil projects have fit neatly within broader resource for infrastructure frameworks, offering opportunities to secure long term supply while financing transport hubs, industrial facilities, and dual use logistics corridors. Moscow, for its part, has viewed Iraq as part of a wider arc of influence running through Syria and Lebanon, reinforcing Russia’s Mediterranean footprint and political leverage across the eastern Middle East.
Against this backdrop, Baghdad’s decision to proceed at Akkas with a prominent U.S. partner is notable, though not yet definitive proof of a wholesale shift in alignment. Iraqi governments have historically pursued hedging strategies, cultivating relationships with rival powers simultaneously to preserve autonomy and maximize investment flows. From this perspective, Akkas may represent an experiment rather than a commitment, a way to rebalance external ties while testing whether Western backed projects can deliver faster results, technological advantages, and political cover in sensitive regions.
Whether Akkas becomes the foundation of a longer term pivot will depend on several factors. Iraq must demonstrate that production targets can be met, infrastructure delivered on schedule, and security maintained in Anbar’s volatile environment. It will also need to replicate the model across other undeveloped gas fields if it hopes to materially reduce dependence on imports. At the same time, Baghdad will face counter pressure from actors whose influence would diminish if Iraqi energy independence expands, making domestic political consensus and diplomatic agility essential.
For now, the Akkas project stands less as proof of a completed geopolitical transformation than as a revealing indicator of Iraq’s evolving calculus. By advancing development at one of its most sensitive gas assets with a major U.S. partner, Iraq is signaling openness to a Western aligned energy pathway at a moment of heightened regional competition. Whether this signal hardens into a durable strategic shift, or fades into another episode of tactical balancing, will shape not only Iraq’s electricity supply but also the future architecture of power and influence across the Middle East.
Economic Studies Unit – North America Office
Center for Linkage Studies and Strategic Research