By Ahmed Rasheed
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq plans to increase production from its Nasiriya oilfield to 200,000 barrels per day from 90,000 bpd in the next few years without seeking assistance from international firms, the oil ministry said on Saturday.
The ministry did not give a precise timeline for achieving the production rise from the field, which lies in Dhi Qar province in southern Iraq.
"The ministry has decided to move forward in developing the Nasiriya oilfield through national effort and not to stop or wait for a contract with an international investor," Oil Minister Jabar al-Luaibi said in a statement.
The development plans include using 50 million cubic feet of gas produced as a by-product of oil production to supply power stations in the province, Oil Ministry spokesman Asim Jihad said in the statement.
Discovered in 1973, Nasiriya is Dhi Qar's largest oilfield.
(Reporting by Ahmed Rasheed; Writing by Ahmed Aboulenein; Editing by Edmund Blair)
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