West Qurna field
| West Qurna | |
|---|---|
  Location of West Qurna | |
| Country | Iraq |
| Offshore/onshore | onshore |
| Coordinates | 30°53′7″N 47°17′27″E / 30.88528°N 47.29083°E |
| Owner | Iraq National Oil Company |
| Service contractors | PetroChina, ExxonMobil, Shell, Lukoil, Statoil |
| Field history | |
| Discovery | 1973 |
| Production | |
| Recoverable oil | 43,000 million barrels (~5.9×109 t) |
West Qurna (Arabic: غرب قرنة) is one of Iraq's largest oil fields, located north of Rumaila field, 65 km northwest of Basra. As of 2010[update], West Qurna was believed to hold 43 billion barrels (6.8×109 m3) of recoverable reserves – making it one of the biggest oil fields in the world.[1] Until 2009, the field was closed to Western firms.[2]
Phases
[edit]West Qurna Phase I
[edit]In November 2009, an ExxonMobil - Shell joint venture won a $50 billion contract to develop the 9-billion-barrels (1.4×109 m3) West Qurna Phase I.[1] As per Iraqi Oil Ministry estimates, the project required a $25 billion investment and another $25 billion in operating fees creating approximately 100,000 jobs in the underdeveloped southern region. ExxonMobil was to increase the production from 0.27 to 2.25 million barrels per day (43×103 to 358×103 m3/d) within seven years. The Iraqi government, in turn, was to pay $1.90 per barrel produced by ExxonMobil-Shell alliance.[3] In November 2023, PetroChina took over as the main operator of West Qurna 1, replacing ExxonMobil.[4]
West Qurna Phase II
[edit]In December 2009, Russia's Lukoil and Norway's Statoil were awarded the rights to develop the 12.88-billion-barrels (2.048×109 m3) 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 120,000 barrels per day (19,000 m3/d) by 2012[5] and 1.8 million barrels per day (290,000 m3/d) over a period of 13 years.[6][7] 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%.[8]
In 2023 Lukoil announced it is planning to double the production of oil from the West Qurna Field 2, to 800,000 bpd.[9]
On 4 November 2025, Lukoil declared force majeure at the West Qurna-2 oilfield due to the impact of Western—especially U.S. and British—sanctions, and may exit the field entirely. Iraq immediately halted all cash and crude oil payments to Lukoil. The field had been producing around 480,000 barrels per day, approximately nine percent of Iraq's total oil output.[10]
Water-injection project
[edit]In 2010, a joint multibillion-dollar water-injection project was to be awarded to operator ExxonMobil. The project is slated to include construction of a plant which will help 6 major oil-field development projects by producing 10–12 million barrels (1,600,000–1,900,000 m3) of water per day. The alliance was planned to include Shell, Eni, Lukoil, CNPC and Petronas.[11][needs update]
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Christopher Helman (2010-01-21). "The World's Biggest Oil Reserves". Forbes. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
- ^ Gina Chon (2009-11-05). "Iraq Awards West Qurna-1 Oil Field to Exxon, Shell". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
- ^ Martin Chulov (2009-11-05). "ExxonMobil wins $50bn contract to develop West Qurna oilfield". The Guardian. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
- ^ "ExxonMobil hands over operations at West Qurna 1 oilfield to PetroChina". Reuters. January 1, 2024.
- ^ Simon Webb (2010-04-27). "Iraq's West Qurna to hit 120,000 bpd in 2012". Reuters. Archived from the original on July 13, 2012. Retrieved 2010-05-21.
- ^ "Russian Oil Giant Wins Big in Iraq Auction". Fox News. 2009-12-12. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
- ^ "Iraq sets West Qurna date". Upstream Online. NHST Media Group. 2010-01-20. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
- ^ "Iraq approves Statoil sale of oil field stake to Lukoil". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2012-03-07.
- ^ "Russia's Lukoil To Double Oil Output At Iraqi Field West Qurna 2 To 800,000 Bpd". 2 November 2023.
- ^ Lukoil declares force majeure in Iraq over US sanctions, Reuters, 10 November 2025.
- ^ Hassan Hafidh (2010-04-19). "Exxon Spearheads Iraqi Water-Injection Project". Rigzone. Retrieved 2010-04-19.