West Qurna ( ar, غرب قرنة) is one of

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

's largest oil fields, located north of

Rumaila field The Rumaila oil field is a super-giant oil field located in southern Iraq, approximately from the Kuwaiti border. Discovered in 1953 by the Basrah Petroleum Company (BPC), an associate company of the Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC), the field is e ...

, west of

Basra Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is han ...

. West Qurna is believed to hold of recoverable reserves. Until 2009, the field was closed to Western firms.

Phases

West Qurna Phase I

In November 2009, an ExxonMobil -

Shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard o ...

joint venture won a $50 billion contract to develop the ''West Qurna Phase I''. As per Iraqi Oil Ministry estimates, the project will require a $25 billion investment and another $25 billion in operating fees creating approximately 100,000 jobs in the underdeveloped southern region. ExxonMobil is set to increase the current production of within seven years. The Iraqi government, in turn, will pay $1.90 per barrel produced by ExxonMobil-Shell alliance.

West Qurna Phase II

In December 2009,

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

's Lukoil and

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

's Statoil were awarded the rights to develop the ''West Qurna Phase II'' oil field. The Lukoil-Statoil alliance will receive $1.15 per barrel that they produce. In addition, they will work to raise output from West Qurna 2 to by 2012 and over a period of 13 years. In March 2012, Statoil sold its 18.75% stake in the field to Lukoil, giving the Russian firm a 75% stake, and leaving the Iraqi state oil company with 25%.

Water-injection project

A new joint multibillion-dollar water-injection project will be awarded to operator ExxonMobil. The project includes construction of a plant which will help 6 major oil-field development projects by producing of water per day. The alliance will include Shell, Eni, Lukoil,

CNPC The China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) () is a major national oil and gas corporation of China and one of the largest integrated energy groups in the world. Its headquarters are in Dongcheng District, Beijing. CNPC was ranked fourth ...

and Petronas.

References

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External links