Page 4 - MEOG Week 10 2022

MEOG COMMENTARY MEOG

Iraq holds project talks

with Chevron, TotalEnergies

The Iraqi Ministry of Oil has held talks with new members of the country’s
list of IOC operators as it maintains the push to increase oil production.

IRAQ THE Iraqi Ministry of Oil (MoO) has held talks the tribe have been staging protests for almost
with its two newest major IOC partners at the three weeks at Nasiriyah’s gas isolation station at
ongoing CERA Week in Houston as it seeks to Kati’ah, demanding employment and the estab-
WHAT: ensure progress on projects that are key to the lishment of a new military regiment that will
Houston was the venue development of the country’s energy sector. employ those without qualifications.
for the discussions The talks focused on ongoing negotiations According to DQOC, Nasiriyah resumed
relating to projects with US major Chevron for the development production at a rate of 40,000 barrels per day,
that will directly lead of a southern oilfield and the implementation half of its 80,000 bpd capacity. A framework for
to a small increase in of a broad deal signed last year with French the development was agreed in 2020 which was
oil output but that will super-major TotalEnergies. to include the development of a 150,000 bpd
be critical to larger refinery as well as the exploitation of Nasiriyah’s
increases elsewhere in Chevron approach 4.36bn barrel reserves to raise capacity to at least
the country. According to a statement from the MoO seen 100,000 bpd.
by NewsBase, Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar Sources said subsequently that that the first
WHY: held talks with Chevron’s vice-president of busi- stage of the plan was to assess previous explora-
Talks with Chevron has ness development and the company’s president tion work carried out in the region by the Iraqi
been ongoing for around of E&P in Africa and Latin America, Clay Neff, Oil Exploration Co. (IOEC) to determine the
two years, while the MoO regarding the development of the Nasiriyah oil- area for development. From that point, the aim
spoke out recently to field in the southern Dhi Qar Governorate. would be to proceed to expand production at
deny rumours the deal The ministry said that Abdul Jabbar had Dhi Qar from the current level of around 200,000
with TotalEnergies was been told that the US firm was in the “advanced” bpd – mainly from Nasiriyah and the Subba oil-
foundering over contract stages of negotiating an agreement with Dhi field – to a seemingly unlikely 1mn bpd.
terms. Qar Oil Co. (DQOC), a subsidiary of the Iraqi The field was discovered 200 km north-west
National Oil Co. (INOC), relating to Nasiriyah of Basra by the previous iteration of INOC in
WHAT NEXT: and the “construction of the infrastructure for oil 1978, though production did not commence
Getting IOC buy-in is and gas production”. until 2009, mainly because of the Iran-Iraq war.
critical to the expansion DQOC shut the field in late February after Chevron has previous involvement with
of nearly all of Iraq’s top protesters from the al-Bedor tribe blocked work- Nasiriyah, having been among four companies
oilfields. ers’ access to the site but resumed production to submit bids to develop the field on an engi-
on March 4 after roads reopened. Members of neering, procurement and construction (EPC)

P4 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 10 09•March•2022