Agreement reached to produce 1.6 million barrels a day at Iraqs West Qurna-1 oil field
ExxonMobil has become the latest international oil company to agree a reduction in its crude oil production targets in Iraq.
The US oil major has signed an initial agreement with the Oil Ministry to cut the plateau production target for the giant West Qurna-1 oil field to 1.6 million barrels a day (b/d) from the original 2.35 million b/d, Abdul Mahdi al-Ameedi, the head of the ministrys contracts and licensing directorate, told local and international reporters.
The agreement still requires approval from the Iraqi cabinet. No details were given on possible extensions to the contract.
In July, the Oil Ministry announced it had reached an agreement with a consortium led by Italys Eni to reduce the plateau target at the Zubair oil field to 850,000 b/d, from 1.25 million b/d. The Zubair field development contract was also increased to 25 years from the original 20.
The table below shows the original and new production targets for each of the awarded oil fields.
| IRAQ OIL PRODUCTION TARGETS | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Field | Operater | Original plateau production target (b/d) | New plateau production target (b/d) | Changes to contractual terms |
| Badra | Gazprom (Russia) | 170,000 | na | na |
| Gharraf | Petronas (Malaysia) | 230,000 | na | na |
| Halfaya | Petrochina (China) | 535,000 | na | na |
| Majnoon | Shell Group (UK-Dutch) | 1,800,000 | 1,000,000* | Shell is still in talks with the Oil Ministry to reduce the Majnoon target to 1 million b/d. |
| Missan | China National Offshore Oil Company (China) | 450,000 | na | na |
| Najma | Sonangol (Angola) | 110,000 | na | na |
| Qayara | Sonangol | 120,000 | na | na |
| Rumaila | BP (UK) | 2,850,000 | 2,000,000-2,400,000* | BP has proposed three new plateaus and extended production periods; a high scenario of 2.4 million b/d, a medium scenario of 2.2 million b/d and a low case of 2 million b/d. No agreement has been reached so far. |
| West Qurna-1 | ExxonMobil (US) | 2,350,000 | 1,600,000 | Needs approval from Iraqi cabinet. No announcement on contract length. |
| West Qurna-2 | Lukoil (Russia) | 1,800,000 | 1,200,000 | Amended deal signed in January 2013, reducing the production target and extending the plateau length from 13 to 19.5 years. |
| Zubair | Eni (Italy) | 1,250,000 | 850,000 | Amended in July 2013, the contract period has also been increased to 25 years, from the original 20. |
| Total | 11,515,000 | 9,065,000-9,465,000 | New total depends on agreement of Rumaila target, so is provided as a range. | |
| na=Not available; *= Not yet agreed. Source: MEED | ||||
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