UK firm gets 1st of possibly many Iraq well deals
Thu Feb 26, 2009 9:15am EST
* 60 wells a year, starting in south
* Increasing Iraq output by 120,000 bpd
* Thousands of wells needed, minister says
By Ahmed Rasheed
BAGHDAD, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Iraq's Oil Ministry and British firm Mesopotamia Petroleum Company signed a joint venture deal on Thursday to drill 60 new oil wells per year, starting with oilfields in the south of the country.
The joint venture, which will have a start-up capital of $90 million and be 51 percent owned by Iraq, is expected to raise Iraq's oil production by 120,000 barrels per day within a year, said Idrees al-Yassiri, head of the Iraq Drilling Company.
The first wells to be drilled by the venture, called the Iraqi Oil Service Company, will be in the southern oil fields of Bazargan, Fakka and Halfaya, the last of which is classed as a super giant with more than 5 billion barrels of oil reserves.
"We expect the company to start its operations in Iraq within a few months. They will expand their work very quickly to be one of the major drilling companies in the region," Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani told Reuters.
"We have very ambitious plans to raise production to 6 million barrels (per day) and this would require drilling thousands of new wells. Companies like this one will be much needed in this country."
Yassiri signed the deal with MPC's chairman, Stephen Remp. Remp is also the chairman of Ramco Energy Plc (ROS.L), which has a 32.66 percent interest in MPC. Another 31.7 percent is owned by privately held Midmar Energy Ltd.
Asked why the British firm was chosen, Yassiri said: "They were the most persistent. And they were the most courageous, willing to come to Iraq while other companies are still hesitating. They most deserved to be given the job."
Faced with plunging oil revenues as crude prices tumble from their record highs of $147 per barrel last year, Iraq is searching for short-term measures to boost oil production.
The country sits on the world's third largest proven oil reserves and desperately needs funds to rebuild after six years of conflict triggered by the U.S.-led invasion of 2003.
Current national production is around 2.3-2.4 million barrels per day and crude exports, 80 percent of which go through the oil ports in Basra province in the south, have hovered around 1.8-1.9 million bpd.
The exports are down from a post-invasion high last year of 2 million bpd because of technical problems.
While pressure issues have also hampered the flow of oil from southern fields, overall output is below pre-invasion levels because of sabotage and the dilapidation of oil infrastructure after years of war, international sanctions and underinvestment.
Iraq is opening up its vast, and largely underexploited oil and gas fields to international firms this year through two bidding rounds for service contracts.
Enthusiasm has been tempered by lingering concerns about security, despite a recent sharp fall in violence across Iraq, and the failure of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government to pass a new, national oil law.
The law is expected to clarify the distribution of control over oil resources between the central government and the provinces. Oil firms hope it will allow them to sign production sharing agreements, which they prefer, rather than simple service contracts. (Editing by Michael Christie and Anthony Barker)
بغداد: اسس العراق وبريطانيا شركة مشتركة لانتاج النفط وحفر الابار في بدء عودة للشركات البريطانية للعراق وقالت شركة مشتركة جديدة بين العراق وشركة ميزوبوتاميا بتروليوم (إم.بي.سي) البريطانية إن قيمة استثمارات الشركة ستبلغ 400 مليون دولار. والهدف من تأسيس الشركة المشتركة هو زيادة الانتاج العراقي من النفط.وقالت إم.بي.سي في بيان إن الشركة البريطانية وشركة الحفر العراقية تنويان استثمار 400 مليون دولار لتمكين الشركة الجديدة التي أطلق عليها الشركة العراقية للخدمات النفطية من شراء وتشغيل 12 حفارا جديدا وتوفير الدعم اللازم ورأس المال العامل لهذا الغرض.ووقعت الشركتان اتفاق انشاء الشركة المشتركة يوم امس الاول الخميس في اطار مساعي العراق لزيادة انتاجه في الاجل القصير.وستحفر الشركة التي يملك العراق 51 في المئة منها 60 بئرا نفطية جديدة سنويا ومن المتوقع أن تزيد انتاج النفط العراقي 120 ألف برميل يوميا في غضون عام على أن تركز في البداية على حقول النفط الجنوبية.وجاء الاتفاق في الوقت الذي يمضي فيه العراق قدما في خططه لمنح عقود لشركات نفط عملاقة لتطوير احتياطيات النفط والغاز الضخمة.ويملك العراق ثالث أكبر احتياطيات نفطية مؤكدة في العالم.وتأرجح انتاج النفط العراقي حول 2.3-2.4 مليون برميل يوميا في الاشهر الاخيرة أي أقل كثيرا من الانتاج قبل الغزو عام 2003.ويعتمد العراق اعتمادا كليا على النفط في تحقيق الايرادات الحكومية وهو يحتاج لزيادة الانتاج من أجل تعويض انهيار أسعار النفط
