Page 5 - AsianOil Week 42 2022

AsianOil COMMENTARY AsianOil

Chinese deals and drilling

updates in Iraq

The last week has seen a spate of industry updates in Iraq that bode well for the

country’s efforts to achieve its ambitious oil production capacity target.

XXX IRAQ this week announced the signing of two waters”.
oil deals with Chinese companies, while its Xie Wensheng, general manager of CNOOC
WHAT: state drilling firm provided its latest operational Iraq, said that the deal would be “the starting
CNOOC and the local OEC update. point for building a new type of co-operative
have signed a deal to Having last week finally voted in a new presi- relationship between CNOOC and Iraq”. He
collect seismic data in dent – who shortly after appointed a prime min- added that his company was “privileged” to sign
the first part of a broad ister – Iraq will be hoping for a period of stability with OEC the deal for the acquisition of onshore
onshore/offshore project following prolonged political stasis and a recent 2D seismic data and processing.
covering 650 square km. civil uprising. In January, the Iraqi National Oil Co. (INOC)
finally concluded a deal agreed in 2019 – delayed
WHY: Onshore/offshore by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic – for
As Iraq pushes forward Together with state-owned China National Off- its OEC subsidiary to collaborate with CNOOC
with oilfield development shore Oil Corp. (CNOOC), Iraq’s Oil Explo- on an onshore/offshore exploration project. This
another Chinese firm was ration Co. (OEC) formalised the initial survey will see the Chinese firm target a 530-square
chosen to construct an phase of an onshore joint study agreement, part km area offshore the Al-Fao peninsula with
oil processing facility at of an onshore/offshore deal that has been sever- OEC focusing on a connected 120-square km
Rumaila. al years in the making. onshore area, south-east of the 6.4bn barrel
Attending the signing ceremony, Oil Min- Zubair oilfield.
WHAT NEXT: ister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar reiterated Baghdad’s OEC director-general Ali Jassim said at the
More drilling work is intention to develop offshore as well as onshore time: “The plans of the Ministry and the National
in planning that will exploration blocks to maximise the country’s Oil Company aim to maximise the national
support the incremental return from its oil and gas reserves. Other Min- reserves of hydrocarbon wealth and invest it,
expansion of various istry of Oil (MoO) officials added that the Arab through intertwining the national effort, and
fields throughout the Gulf Block Joint Study Agreement (AGB JSA) joint work with reputable international compa-
country. was “an important step to develop the explora- nies in transforming expectations into an actual
tion block in the Arab Gulf and the first joint reserve added to the national production.”
exploration study conducted in the territorial He noted that OEC and CNOOC are

Week 42 24•October•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P5