Page 9 - MEOG Week 37 2022
P. 9
MEOG PROJECTS & COMPANIES MEOG
Iraq to begin offshore survey
as onshore well is completed
IRAQ IRAQ will shortly sign off on a contract to enable transforming expectations into an actual reserve
work to begin on the first surveys in the country’s added to the national production.”
limited offshore area as Baghdad seeks to add He noted that OEC and CNOOC are “pre-
to reserves and maintains drilling momentum paring to conclude a contract in the coming
onshore. days”, paving the way for the start of exploratory
Quoted by the Ministry of Oil’s (MoO) surveys.
website and the Iraqi News Agency (INA), Oil The MoO is also looking to explore four large
Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar stressed the impor- areas in the south-east, described to Middle
tance of the surveys, noting that “expectations East Oil & Gas (MEOG) by an MoO source as:
and studies indicate that [the area] contains Area A (between Nasiriyah and Block 10); Area
hydrocarbons”. B (between Nasiriyah and Gharraf); Area D
In January, the Iraqi National Oil Co. (INOC) (east of Nasiriyah) and Area E, which covers the
finally concluded a deal agreed in 2019 – delayed marshlands of Dhi Qar.
by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic – for Meanwhile, state-owned Iraqi Drilling
its Oil Exploration Co. (OEC) subsidiary to col- Co. (IDC) said this week that it has completed
laborate with the state-owned China National another well at the giant Zubair oilfield.
Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) on an onshore/ The Iraqi firm is working with US services
offshore exploration project. specialist Schlumberger on a 37-well drilling
This will see the Chinese firm target a campaign that will enable the field’s Italian oper-
530-square km area offshore the Al-Fao pen- ator Eni to increase production from 475,000
insula with OEC focusing on a connected barrels per day to 850,000 bpd by 2027.
120-square km onshore area, south-east of the IDC director-general Bassim Abdul Karim
6.4bn barrel Zubair oilfield. said that well ZB-551 was drilled to a total depth
OEC director-general Ali Jassim said: “The of 3,601 metres, noting that eight of the 37 wells
plans of the Ministry and the National Oil Com- have now been completed.
pany aim to maximise the national reserves He added that the latest well had taken 35
of hydrocarbon wealth and invest it, through days to drill. Its completion follows shortly after
intertwining the national effort, and joint work that of well ZB-536, which was completed in just
with reputable international companies in 22 days.
Week 37 14•September•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P9
