Page 5 - MEOG Week 47 2021

MEOG COMMENTARY MEOG

Total optimism Petronas this week reporting that drilling had
Cause for optimism came by way of the mega- begun on a new well.
deal finalised between Baghdad and France’s Meanwhile, state-owned Iraqi Drilling Co.
TotalEnergies in September. (IDC) is collaborating with various international
This foresees an investment of up to $27bn partners to drill wells at the Missan oilfield clus-
over the 25-year contract and will entail raised ter (150 wells), the giant Zubair field (37) and
oil production, gas capture and utilisation, solar Nasiriyah (20).
PV and the development of the stalled Common Perhaps the most gratifying for Baghdad
Seawater Supply Facility (CSSF) which Exxon- is that IDC secured a deal to drill 30 wells for
Mobil had been overseeing. BP, PetroChina and Basra Oil Co. (BOC) at the
The latter will likely play a far larger role in country’s main workhorse asset, Rumaila, which
Iraq’s ability to achieve its goal than the 125,000 has been producing around 1.4mn bpd in 2021.
bpd production increase TotalEnergies is The companies are partners in the Rumaila
expected to bring to the Ratawi field. Operating Organization (ROO), which remains
While reducing flaring and increasing in discussions with the MoO to determine short-
improving electricity supplies are key strate- term production targets.
gic ambitions of the Iraqi authorities, the main The field’s plateau level was negotiated down-
boon for Baghdad was that it attracted such a ward from 2.85mn bpd to 2.1mn bpd in 2014, a
significant commitment from a premier global figure which BP said it was still working towards
company despite other firms’ efforts to leave and last year.
amid growing pressure for IOCs to embrace the In an interview with Iraq Oil Report this
energy transition. week, ROO director Hussein Abdul-Kadhim
More than 90% of state receipts coming from Hussein said: “There is a possibility that produc-
the sale of crude oil and Iraq must continue to tion levels will fall and then rise. We expect pro-
prioritise oilfield development while charter- duction to reach 1.65mn bpd in 2025.”
ing its own course towards a cleaner future. As However, there remain questions over
it becomes trickier for field developers to access whether Iraq can achieve its 3mn bpd output
international funding sources, Baghdad is incen- boost. Speaking to MEOG, Ian Simm, principal
tivised to ramp up drilling activities as quickly advisor at consultancy IGM Energy, said: “Iraq
as possible. certainly has the potential to increase produc-
With time of the essence, there are numer- tion significantly. Its fields are world class and
ous campaigns under way at other assets across reserve figures could be due an upgrade.”
the country that will add incremental crude He added: “Considering all of the current
volumes. plans, we estimate that Iraq could raise oil pro-
According to plans recently submitted to the duction by around 2-2.5mn bpd by 2027 while
MoO, Lukoil and Japanese partner Inpex Corp. capturing significant volumes of gas that would
are expecting to reach plateau production of otherwise be flared. While short of the target, it
250,000 bpd at their Eridu oilfield in Block 10, would be a major achievement. However, much
around 190km west of WQ. will depend on the political and security land-
A little to the north, the partners in the Ghar- scape as well as the success of the CSSF, plans
raf oilfield are working to increase output from for which have already been narrowed in scope
the current 70,000 bpd to 230,000 bpd with compared those of Exxon.”™

Week 47 24•November•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P5