Page 7 - MEOG Week 47

MEOG PERFORMANCE MEOG

Iran keeps drilling

IRAN THE state-owned National Iranian Drilling Co. has been encouraging, though the deepening
(NIDC) has maintained drilling activities despite involvement of companies controlled by the
the pandemic as Iran continues to be the world’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)
most prolific driller. means that if and when sanctions are lifted, for-
During the first eight months of the current eign involvement is likely to take longer than had
Iranian calendar year (March-November), the previously been anticipated.
company drilled 82 oil and gas wells. According The NIDC’s drilling update follows the com-
to acting director of operations Saeed Akbari, pany’s October announcement that it had agreed
this figure consisted of 23 development/appraisal deals for the rental of 16 drilling rigs for five
wells, 57 workover wells and two exploratory domestic companies.
wells. He said that these wells were drilled to NIDC’s parent firm, National Iranian Oil Co.
a cumulative total of 45,460 metres at both (NIOC), reported that the agreements had been
onshore and offshore locations. signed with Global Petrotech Kish Co., Petro
NIDC accounts for a significant part of Iran’s Iran Development Co., Pasargad Energy Devel-
overall drilling capabilities, with 70 onshore and opment Co., Qeshm Oil and Energy Industries,
offshore drilling rigs. Over the past two years, the and Petrotenco Co., all of which were recently
firm has drilled a total of more than 240 wells awarded contracts to carry out work on oil and
throughout the country. gas fields in the country.
While Iran has struggled to attract foreign Reza Dehqan, NIOC’s deputy director for
investors, it has pushed forward with devel- development and engineering affairs, said that
opment of its large oil and gas assets utilising the rigs would be used to drill wells at the Zilaei,
domestic companies. Despite concern that the Mansourabad, Siahmakan, Ahvaz (phases one
local service sector would not be able to handle and four) and Maroun (phases five and 12)
these initiatives without outside help, progress fields.™

Lukoil turns profit as Iraq output increases

IRAQ RUSSIA’S Lukoil this week reported a Q3 profit 310,000 bpd, down from a 2019 average of
of $664mn on the back of improving oil prices 400,000 bpd, with work ongoing to drill new
and higher production at home and in Iraq, wells as part of the field’s phase two development.
where it operates the supergiant West Qurna-2 In late October, Lukoil Mid-East’s managing
(WQ2) oilfield. director Egor Zubarev told Bloomberg: “The
The announcement marks a change in for- current situation forces us and our partners to
tunes compared to Q2, for which the company revise our plans to see how they correspond to
reported a $250bn loss. the needs of the time.”
As a key oil producer in both Russia and Iraq, The company had intended to raise produc-
Lukoil’s earnings were hit by OPEC+ constraints tion from WQ2 to 480,000 bpd by the end of the
during the first half of the year, with WQ2 output year. However, Baghdad called on IOCs to cut
reduced by 70,000 barrels per day in May and output from their southern fields by 350,000 bpd,
another 50,000 bpd drop in June in accordance while Basrah Oil Co. (BOC), which is respon-
with a request from Baghdad’s Ministry of Oil sible for the southern region, was directed to
(MoO). reduce output by a further 300,000 bpd. Despite
However, on November 24 it said that pro- Iraq’s intended compliance with the OPEC+
duction from the field had risen by 30,000 bpd in restrictions, production rose by more than
October, while domestic output has also grown 240,000 bpd in October compared to September.
as well as improving natural gas flows from assets Lukoil is also expected to submit proposals
in Uzbekistan. soon to the Iraqi authorities for the development
Production at WQ2 now stands at around of its Block 10 concession.™

Week 47 25•November•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P7