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Chinese Consortium to Develop Dhi Qar Refinery

By John Lee.

Iraq’s Ministry of Oil has signed an outline agreement with a Chinese consortium for the development of the Dhi Qar refinery.

A Ministry official described the signing of the initial principles agreement as an important step forward, and a prelude to the signing of the final investment contract for the Dhi Qar refinery project, which will have a capacity of 100,000 barrels per day (bpd).

The Director General of the Southern Refineries Company (SRC), Hussam Wali, said that the final signature of the contract will be made “after the completion of the economic model of the investment contract“, and it is hoped that this will take place within three months.

The consortium consists of Chinese state-owned arms manufacturer Norinco (which owns ZhenHua Oil), Power China (Power Construction Corporation of China), CNEC (China Nuclear Engineering & Construction?) and the UAE Company for Middle Services Ltd.

(Source: Ministry of Oil)

The post Chinese Consortium to Develop Dhi Qar Refinery first appeared on Iraq Business News.

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Iraq signs $2bn Oil Deal with Chinese Firm

By John Lee.

Iraq has reportedly awarded a Chinese company a deal which would see it paying $2 billion upfront for a year’s supply of oil.

Alaa al-Yasiri, General Manager of State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) told Iraqi News Agency (INA) that a Chinese company had won the contract ahead of a European company, but did not identify the company.

Bloomberg had previously reported that China’s ZhenHua Oil was poised to sign the contract.

More here and here.

(Sources: Bloomberg, FT, INA)

The post Iraq signs $2bn Oil Deal with Chinese Firm first appeared on Iraq Business News.

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China “Set to Bail Out Iraq” with Oil Deal

By John Lee.

Iraq is reportedly poised to sign a multibillion-dollar contract with China’s ZhenHua Oil, in what Bloomberg describes as a bailout from Beijing.

Under the deal, Iraq’s cash-strapped government which will receive money upfront in exchange for long-term oil supplies.

Click here to read the full article.

(Source: Bloomberg)

The post China “Set to Bail Out Iraq” with Oil Deal first appeared on Iraq Business News.

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How China “Took Control” of Exxon’s Iraqi Oilfield

How China Took Control Of Exxon’s Supergiant Iraqi Oilfield

Recent reports suggest that Chinese oil giants China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) are “considering acquiring” U.S. oil titan ExxonMobil‘s 32.7 per cent stake in Iraq’s supergiant West Qurna 1 oil and gas field.

Writing in Oil Price, Simon Watkins says these reports are missing the point.

Click here to read the full story.

The post How China “Took Control” of Exxon’s Iraqi Oilfield first appeared on Iraq Business News.

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China to Buy of Exxon’s stake in West Qurna?

By John Lee.

The China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) are reportedly considering acquiring Exxon Mobil‘s remaining stake in Iraq’s West Qurna 1 oilfield.

According to sources cited by Bloomberg, the stake could fetch more than $500 million.

ExxonMobil originally had a 60% stake in the field, but sold 25% to PetroChina and 10% to Pertamina in November 2013. (Shell originally had a 15% stake, but sold it to CIECO West Qurna Limited, a subsidiary of Japan’s Itochu Corporation, in 2018 for $406 million.)

Itochu’s website lists the current interests as: ExxonMobil (US (Lead Contractor), 32.7%; Petrochina (China) 32.7%; Itochu (Japan) 19.6%; Pertamina (Indonesia) 10.0%; Oil Exploration Company (Iraqi state-owned company) 5.0%.

More here.

(Source: Bloomberg)

The post China to Buy of Exxon’s stake in West Qurna? first appeared on Iraq Business News.

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Recon Wins Contract at Garraf Oilfield

China’s Recon Technology has announced that it has signed a $2.8-million engineering and construction service subcontract with Grand Energy Development Limited on a heavy oil transportation system project (the “Project”) at the Garraf oilfield in Iraq for the services that Recon has provided.

Pursuant to the subcontract, Recon shall carry out all the engineering design services, provide the technical support to the procurement, construction, commissioning activities and provide the training services of the heavy oil transportation system project.

Garraf oilfield is located in the province of Thi Qar, Iraq, approximately 5km north-west of Al-Refaei city and 85km north of Nasiriya city. The oilfield is 17.5km long and 5.5km wide. It is estimated to hold 1.3 billion barrels of oil reserves.

Based on the Final Development Plan approved by the Government of Iraq in 2018, the oilfield is undergoing further development in stages to achieve crude oil production of 230,000 barrels per day by the end of 2020.

As part of the Project, the heavy oil pipeline with a total intended capacity of 275,000 barrels per day will be built to support the Garraf production target. By providing the services under the Project, Recon has played an important role in building the heavy oil pipeline.

Shenping Yin, co-founder and CEO of Recon said:

“With advanced technique and wide experiences in the automation and digitalization of oil and gas industry, Recon has a relatively competitive advantage in the engineering design and construction businesses in oilfield segment.

“With the successful completion of the project, we expect to construct more oilfield projects and hope to help more oilfields reduce costs and maintain yields at a healthy level in the near future.“

Recon Technology, Ltd. (RCON) is China’s first non-state-owned oil and gas field service company listed on NASDAQ.

(Source: Recon)

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Medical Aid Arrives in Baghdad from China

By John Lee.

A third batch of medical aid from China arrived on Monday in Baghdad.

It includes medical protective equipment such as protective clothing, masks and gloves.

(Sources: Ministry for Health, CGTN)