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Iraq's state-run South Oil Company is holding talks with international oil companies to build three pipelines worth up to $500 million [600 billion Iraqi dinars], according to a report from Dow Jones Newswires.

SOC's director-general said on Monday that the intention was to link key oil fields to the export system in southern Iraq.

"We are talking to CNPC [China National Petroleum Corporation], BP, Eni and others to build three pipelines," Dhiaa Jaafar told Dow Jones Newswires in an exclusive interview in his office in Basra.

Jaafar said the three lines would link the Rumaila North, Tuba and Nahr Ben Umar fields with oil deposits in the Faw peninsula, before crude oil is shipped via the sea terminals in the Gulf.

The length of the pipelines will range from 105 kilometer to 145 kilometers each, he said.

Many of Iraq's oil pipelines are old and eroded.

(Source: Dow Jones Newswires)

Iraq's new oil minister, Abdul Kareem Luaibi, put building infrastructure at the top of his priority list and said yesterday he expected the expansion of Basra's crude export facilities to be finished by the end of 2011, according to a report from Gulf Daily News.

Luaibi, who was sworn into office with Iraq's new government earlier this week, also said he hoped to start a project soon to build crude oil and gas export pipelines to Syria, a story on which we have recently reported.

A deputy oil minister since March 2009, Luaibi was elevated to oil minister when Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki persuaded his boss, Hussain Al Shahristani, to take the position of deputy prime minister for energy in the new government.

Analysts believe Al Shahristani, will have ultimate control over energy policy, including the vast oilfields Iraq is counting on to rebuild after years of war.

"The priority is to build oil infrastructure. We have major projects like expanding the Basra port to increase its export capacity to 4.5 million barrels per day (bpd), and it's expected we will finish the rehabilitation work before the end of next year," he said.

The Syria pipeline project was expected to start at the beginning of the new year after agreement is reached with Syria, he said.

Iraq is also building new crude storage facilities at Nahr Bin Umar, Nassiriya, Tuba and Fao, which Luaibi said would have "utmost priority because they represent essential guarantees to cope with the expected big increase of production".

(Source: Gulf Daily News)

Lukoil and partners, Statoil and the Iraqi state, have issued four new tenders for construction and energy projects at Iraq’s West Qurna 2 oilfield, according to reports from Reuters.

The tenders are for the construction of:

• an oil export pipeline;
• a tank farm at Tuba;
• a power distribution station and an associated gas processing plant; and
• an oil gathering system, central processing facilities and a water supply system.

The company has set a deadline of Dec. 4 for companies to submit their final bids for the contracts.

(Source: Reuters)

Iraq's South Oil Company, working with the IOCs, has set quarterly
production targets for the country's southern oilfields for 2011,
according to documents obtained by Reuters.

Production is targeted reach an average of nearly 2.3m bpd by Q4 2011.

 Oilfields            Q1          Q2          Q3          Q4

 Rumaila           1,175,000   1,201,000   1,226,000   1,250,000

 West Qurna 1        260,000     270,000     285,000     300,000

 Majnoon              70,000      80,000      90,000     100,000

 Zubair              280,000     310,000     340,000     360,000

 Gharaf                  -           -           -        35,000

 Nahr Bin Umar        45,000      50,000      60,000      70,000

 Ratawi               10,000      14,000      18,000      25,000

 Luhais               60,000      70,000      80,000      85,000

 Tuba                 10,000      15,000      20,000      30,000

 Nassiriya            15,000      20,000      30,000      30,000

TOTAL              1,925,000   2,030,000   2,149,000   2,285,000

(Source: Reuters)

quarterly 2011 production targets for
Iraq's southern oilfields

Reuters reports that oil exports from Iraq’s Basra terminal recovered  to 1.56 million barrels on Tuesday, after dropping to 720,000 barrels on Monday due to pipeline repairs.

“The flow rate from Basra port is recovering after they finished repairs on some parts of the export pipeline yesterday evening,” a shipping source claimed.

The shipper said three ships were loading crude and six were waiting at anchor. A South Oil Co. official said two turbines pumping crude to the offshore terminal stopped working on Sunday evening and caused the drop in exports.

“Two crude turbines in the North Rumaila PS1 (pumping station) and the Tuba storage facility stopped working and caused a cut in supply,” the official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

(Source: Reuters)