Chinese Consortium wins $594m Iraq Oil Processing Contract

By John Lee.

Kuwait Energy Basra Limited (KE Basra), an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Hong Kong-based United Energy Group (UEG), has entered into the EPCC (engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning) contract with a Chinese consortium to provide a central processing facility including oil treatment system and auxiliary systems at Block 9 in Basra.

The contractor is a consortium formed on 31 December 2020 and consisting of China CAMC Engineering and CNOOC Petrochemical Engineering.

According to disclosure documents lodged with the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, the contract price is US$593,584,975 and the work should be completed within 33 months from the date of commencement. (The foundation stone for the project has just been laid).

The main purpose of this central processing facility project is to increase crude oil production capacity of Block 9 to 100,000 barrels per day (bpd).

In its statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, UEG added:

Kuwait Energy Basra Limited is a limited liability company incorporated in British Virgin Islands and an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company.

“KE Basra is the operator of the Block 9 contract area located in the Basra Governorate, Southern Iraq, pursuant to the Exploration, Development and Production Service Contract with the contracting parties of Basra Oil Company (an Iraqi State Oil Company), KE Basra, Dragon Oil (Block 9) Limited and Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation.

(Source: UEG)

The post Chinese Consortium wins $594m Iraq Oil Processing Contract first appeared on Iraq Business News.

Iraq Awards New Oilfield Licences: FULL LIST

By John Lee.

Iraq’s Ministy of Oil has awarded all four development projects, and two of the seven exploration blocks, that it offered in its fifth auction of oil licences.

Only nine of the 26 companies originally pre-qualified took part in the auction, with majors such as Lukoil (Russia), ExxonMobil (US) and Total (France) not bidding.

Development blocks:

  • Gilabat-Qumar, in Diyala: Crescent Petroleum (UAE)
  • Khashim Ahmer-Injana, in Diyala: Crescent Petroleum (UAE)
  • Huwaiza, in Missan (Maysan): Geo Jade Petroleum (China)
  • Khudher Al-Mai [Khider al-Mai], in Basra and Muthana: Crescent Petroleum (UAE)

Exploration blocks:

  • Naft Khana, in Diyala: Geo-Jade Petroleum (China)
  • Sindibad [Sindbad] field in Basra: United Energy Group (Hong Kong)
  • Zurbatiya [Zurbatia], in Wasit and Diyala: not awarded
  • Shihabi in Missan and Wasit: not awarded
  • Fao, in Basra: not awarded
  • Jebel Sanam [Jabal Sanam], in Basra: not awarded
  • Offshore Gulf block: not awarded

Abdul Mahdi al-Ameedi, director general of the Petroleum Contracts and Licensing Directorate (PCLD), told Reuters that the failure of five blocks to attract bids was due to a combination of factors, including the fact that some of them cover former battlefields, some are hard to access, and the one offshore plot needs more data.

He said another round could be held for those five blocks.

More details here from Iraq Oil Report (subscription required)

(Sources: Iraq Oil Report, Reuters, Associated Press, AFP)

Sonangol to Transfer Iraqi Oil Fields?

By John Lee.

A recent report suggests that, in the uncertainty following the recent Angolan election, the Iraqi assets of the state-owned oil company Sonangol are in play.

Writing in Seeking Alpha, Jay Currie says the the Najmah and Qaiyarah [Qayara] oil fields may be transferred to Russian service company Eurasia Drilling, and questions the involvement of two Jordanian consultants and a Hong Kong-based company called United Energy Group.

The full article can be read here.

(Source: Seeking Alpha)

(Picture: Oil Minister Luaibi with Sonangol’s Edson Dos Santos, Baghdad, 30th August 2017)