The latest West Qurna Oilfield News – Baker Hughes, contract, Shell, Lukoil, Russia, new oil wells and more – brought to you by Iraq Business News.
By John Lee. The China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) are reportedly considering acquiring Exxon Mobil's remaining stake in Iraq's West Qurna 1 oilfield. According to sources cited by Bloomberg, the stake could fetch more than $500 million. ExxonMobil originally had a 60% stake in the field, but sold […]
By John Lee. The Basrah Gas Company (BGC) and Shamara Holding have reportedly signed a contract under which Shamara will supply electricity to the Basra Natural Gas plant. According to The National, the contract will enable the plant to process by-product gas that would other wise be flared from the Rumaila, Zubair and West Qurna-1 […]
By Ahmed Mousa Jiyad. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. The Ministry of Oil and the “Odious Contract’ Trap” with ExxonMobil’ Consortium Talks have intensified recently about the continuation of negotiations between the Ministry of Oil (MoO) and ExxonMobil/CNPC consortium that might […]
By John Lee. Production at the West Qurna 1 oilfield has reportedly reached 465,000 barrels per day (bpd), following the completion of new crude processing facilities and oil storage tanks. Officials told Reuters on Monday that the field was previously producing about 440,000 bpd. Exxon's foreign staff were present at a ceremony to launch the […]
By Hamdi Malik for Al Monitor. Any opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. ExxonMobil evacuated dozens of its non-Iraqi employees from Iraq on May 18. The evacuation follows a US State Department decision to withdraw its non-essential staff from the US Embassy in Baghdad and its consulate […]
By John Lee. According to a report from Reuters, employees from Exxon Mobil will start returning to work at the West Qurna 1 oilfield on Sunday. Sources told the news agency that the company had received assurances from the Iraqi Ministry of Oil and the Basra Oil Company (BOC) that its staff would receive extra […]
By John Lee. Oil production is to increase at the West Qurna 1 oilfield, according to Reuters. The news agency quoted Basra Oil Company (BOC) chief Ihsan Abdul Jabbar as saying on Wednesday that output will rise from 440,000 barrels of crude oil per day (bpd) to 490,000 bpd in the “next few days”. The […]
By John Lee. Oil Minister Thamer al-Ghadban has criticised ExxonMobil's decision to temporarily evacuate staff from the West Qurna oil field as “unacceptable and unjustified”. In a statement on Sunday, he said the move was "political", and pointed out that other international oil companies are continuing to work freely. According to CNN, the company evacuated […]
By John Lee. The Basra Gas Company (BGC) is expected to increase production from its current level of 900 million cubic feet per day (mcf/d) to 1,050 mcf/d by the end of this year. A statement from the Ministry of Oil on Thursday added that the project aims to reach a target of 2,000 mcf/d […]
By John Lee. Security forces in Basra province have reportedly prevented demonstrators from storming the West Qurna 1 oil field on Wednesday. A military source told Anadolu Agency that demonstrators blocked all roads leading to the facility, prompting local security forces to intervene. (Source: Anadolu Agency)
By John Lee. Italy's Saipem has been awarded a contract by ExxonMobil Iraq Limited for the DS6 project for the debottlenecking of the West Qurna field, in the south east of Iraq. Debottlenecking is a process that optimises a plant in order to increase its overall capacity. The works will have a duration of 23 […]
By John Lee. Protestors took to the streets of Basra for the fourth day on Wednesday, protesting the killing of a demonstrator by security forces, and demanding jobs and public services. According to AFP, protesters also blocked the road leading to the oilfields of West Qurna, while international oil companies (IOCs) have reportedly moved senior […]
