West Qurna Field
Encyclopedia
West Qurna is one of Iraq
's largest oil field
s, located north of Rumaila field
, west of Basra
. West Qurna is believed to hold 43 Goilbbl of recoverable reserves, making it the second largest field in the world after Saudi Arabia
's Ghawar oil field. The field was closed to Western firms due to years-long sanctions.
joint venture won a $50 billion contract to develop the 9 Goilbbl West Qurna Phase I. As per Iraqi Oil Ministry
estimates, the project will require a $25 billion investment and another $25 billion in operating fees creating approximately 100,000 jobs in underdeveloped southern region. ExxonMobil is set to increase the current production of 0.27 Moilbbl/d within seven years. The Iraqi government, in turn, will pay $1.90 per barrel produced by ExxonMobil-Shell alliance.
's Lukoil
and Norway
's Statoil
were awarded the rights to develop the 12.88 Goilbbl West Qurna Phase II oil field. The Lukoil-Statoil alliance will receive $1.15 per barrel that they produce. In addition, they will work to raise output from West Qurna 2 to 120000 oilbbl/d by 2012 and 1.8 Moilbbl/d over a period of 13 years.
, Lukoil
, CNPC
and Petronas
.
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
's largest oil field
Oil field
An oil field is a region with an abundance of oil wells extracting petroleum from below ground. Because the oil reservoirs typically extend over a large area, possibly several hundred kilometres across, full exploitation entails multiple wells scattered across the area...
s, located north of Rumaila field
Rumaila Field
The Rumaila oil field is a giant oil field located in southern Iraq, approximately from the Kuwaiti border. The dispute between Iraq and Kuwait over allegedly slant-drilling in the field was one of reasons for Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990. This field was discovered by British Petroleum in...
, west of Basra
Basra
Basra is the capital of Basra Governorate, in southern Iraq near Kuwait and Iran. It had an estimated population of two million as of 2009...
. West Qurna is believed to hold 43 Goilbbl of recoverable reserves, making it the second largest field in the world after Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
's Ghawar oil field. The field was closed to Western firms due to years-long sanctions.
West Qurna Phase I
In November 2009, an Exxon Mobil - ShellRoyal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
joint venture won a $50 billion contract to develop the 9 Goilbbl West Qurna Phase I. As per Iraqi Oil Ministry
Ministry of Oil (Iraq)
The Ministry of Oil is the Iraqi government agency responsible for Iraqi petroleum. The Minister of Oil since December 21, 2010 is Abdul Karim al-Luaibi.-External links:* by Michael T. Klare, The Huffington Post, July 14 2009...
estimates, the project will require a $25 billion investment and another $25 billion in operating fees creating approximately 100,000 jobs in underdeveloped southern region. ExxonMobil is set to increase the current production of 0.27 Moilbbl/d within seven years. The Iraqi government, in turn, will pay $1.90 per barrel produced by ExxonMobil-Shell alliance.
West Qurna Phase II
In December 2009, RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
's Lukoil
LUKoil
Lukoil/LUKoil ; ) is Russia's second largest oil company and its second largest producer of oil. In 2009, the company produced 97.615 million tons of oil; ....
and Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
's Statoil
Statoil
Statoil ASA is a Norwegian petroleum company established in 1972. It merged with Norsk Hydro in 2007 and was known as StatoilHydro until 2009, when the name was changed back to Statoil ASA. The brand Statoil was retained as a chain of fuel stations owned by StatoilHydro...
were awarded the rights to develop the 12.88 Goilbbl West Qurna Phase II oil field. The Lukoil-Statoil alliance will receive $1.15 per barrel that they produce. In addition, they will work to raise output from West Qurna 2 to 120000 oilbbl/d by 2012 and 1.8 Moilbbl/d over a period of 13 years.
Water-Injection Project
A new joint milti-billion dollar water-injection project will be awarded to operator ExxonMobil. The project includes construction of a plant which will help 6 major oil-field development projects by producing 10 Moilbbl of water per day. The alliance will include Shell, Eni SpAEni
Eni S.p.A. is an Italian multinational oil and gas company, present in 70 countries, and currently Italy's largest industrial company with a market capitalization of 87.7 billion euros , as of July 24, 2008...
, Lukoil
LUKoil
Lukoil/LUKoil ; ) is Russia's second largest oil company and its second largest producer of oil. In 2009, the company produced 97.615 million tons of oil; ....
, CNPC
China National Petroleum Corporation
China National Petroleum Corporation is a state-owned fuel-producing corporation and the largest integrated oil and gas company in the People's Republic of China...
and Petronas
Petronas
PETRONAS, short for Petroliam Nasional Berhad, is a Malaysian oil and gas company that was founded on August 17, 1974. Wholly owned by the Government of Malaysia, the corporation is vested with the entire oil and gas resources in Malaysia and is entrusted with the responsibility of developing and...
.