West Qurna Field
| West Qurna | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Country | Iraq |
| Offshore/onshore | onshore |
| Coordinates | 30°53′7″N 47°17′27″E / 30.88528°N 47.29083°ECoordinates: 30°53′7″N 47°17′27″E / 30.88528°N 47.29083°E |
| Owner | Iraq National Oil Company |
| Service contractor(s) | Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell, Lukoil, Statoil |
| Field history | |
| Discovery | 1973 |
| Production | |
| Recoverable oil | 43,000 million barrels (~5.9×109 t) |
West Qurna (Arabic: غرب قرنة) is one of Iraq's largest oil fields, located north of Rumaila field, west of Basra. West Qurna is believed to hold 43 billion barrels (6.8×109 m3) of recoverable reserves, making it the second largest field in the world after Saudi Arabia's Ghawar oil field.[1] The field was closed to Western firms due to years-long sanctions.[2]
Contents |
[edit] Phases
[edit] West Qurna Phase I
In November 2009, an Exxon Mobil - Shell joint venture won a $50 billion contract to develop the 9-billion-barrel (1.4×109 m3) West Qurna Phase I.[1] 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 to 2.25 million barrels per day (43×103 to 358×103 m3/d) within seven years. The Iraqi government, in turn, will pay $1.90 per barrel produced by ExxonMobil-Shell alliance.[3]
[edit] West Qurna Phase II
In December 2009, Russia's Lukoil and Norway's Statoil were awarded the rights to develop the 12.88-billion-barrel (2.048×109 m3) 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 120,000 barrels per day (19,000 m3/d) by 2012[4] and 1.8 million barrels per day (290,000 m3/d) over a period of 13 years.[5][6] In March 2012, Statoil sold its 18.75% state in the field to Lukoil, giving the Russian firm a 75% stake, and leaving the Iraqi state oil company with 25%.[7]
[edit] 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 10–12 million barrels (1,600,000–1,900,000 m3) of water per day. The alliance will include Shell, Eni SpA, Lukoil, CNPC and Petronas.[8]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b Christopher Helman (2010-01-21). "The World's Biggest Oil Reserves". Forbes. http://www.forbes.com/2010/01/21/biggest-oil-fields-business-energy-oil-fields.html?boxes=businesschannelsections. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
- ^ Gina Chon (2009-11-05). "Iraq Awards West Qurna-1 Oil Field to Exxon, Shell". The Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125741092983330293.html. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
- ^ Martin Chulov (2009-11-05). "ExxonMobil wins $50bn contract to develop West Qurna oilfield". Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/nov/05/exxonmobil-iraq-oil-contract-qurna. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
- ^ Simon Webb (2010-04-27). "Iraq's West Qurna to hit 120,000 bpd in 2012". Reuters. http://in.reuters.com/article/oilRpt/idINLDE63Q1VS20100427. Retrieved 2010-05-21.
- ^ "Russian Oil Giant Wins Big in Iraq Auction". Fox News. 2009-12-12. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,580077,00.html?test=latestnews. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
- ^ "Iraq sets West Qurna date". Upstream Online (NHST Media Group). 2010-01-20. http://www.upstreamonline.com/live/article204022.ece. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
- ^ "Iraq approves Statoil sale of oil field stake to Lukoil". af.reuters.com. http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFL5E8E714T20120307. Retrieved 2012-03-07.
- ^ Hassan Hafidh (2010-04-19). "Exxon Spearheads Iraqi Water-Injection Project". Rigzone. http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?hpf=1&a_id=91246. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
