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Three Oilfield Services Companies to Leave Kurdistan

By John Lee.

The Iraqi Ministry of Oil has confirmed reports that three major US-based oilfield services companies have informed the Ministry that they will refrain from entering into new projects Iraqi Kurdistan.

It says that Schlumberger, Baker Hughes and Halliburton have made the commitment to comply with the Federal Supreme Court ruling that oil contracts signed with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) are unconstitutional.

The ministry adds that the companies are now in the process of winding up and terminating their existing tenders and contracts in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

(Source: Ministry of Oil)

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Schlumberger “Withdraws from Iraqi Kurdistan”

By John Lee.

Schlumberger has reportedly announced its withdrawal from Iraqi Kurdistan, as a result of the Federal Supreme Court ruling that oil contracts signed with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) are unconstitutional.

Sources told the official Iraqi News Agency that the US-based oilfield services company “sent a letter with an official document to the Iraqi Oil Ministry in its commitment to Federal Court Decision No. 59, which includes not dealing with the Kurdistan region regarding the oil file.“

The news agency adds that a similar decision was taken previously by Baker Hughes.

Schlumberger has been active at several fields in southern Iraq, drilling 37 oil wells in the Al-Zubair field in Basra, drilling 96 horizontal and diagonal oil wells at the West Qurna 1 field, and drilling 40 new wells at Majnoon oilfield.

(Source: Iraqi News Agency)

The post Schlumberger “Withdraws from Iraqi Kurdistan” first appeared on Iraq Business News.

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IDC to Drill 37 Wells at Zubair Oil Field

By John Lee.

The Iraqi Drilling Company (IDC) has signed a contract with Schlumberger to provide drilling services for 37 oil wells in the Al-Zubair field in Basra for the Italian company ENI, which will operate the field.

The Director General of the Iraqi Drilling Company, Basem Abdul Karim, said that the contract includes the operation of the two drilling rigs IDC 37 and IDC 38.

The targeted reservoirs in this project are the Mishref reservoir, Nahr Bin Omar, and the Zubair reservoir, where new drilling operations contribute to increasing the production capacity of the aforementioned field.

(Source: Ministry of Oil)

The post IDC to Drill 37 Wells at Zubair Oil Field first appeared on Iraq Business News.

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Deal Signed for 96 new Wells at West Qurna 1

By John Lee.

Iraq has signed a contract with Schlumberger to drill 96 horizontal and diagonal oil wells at the West Qurna 1 field in Basra.

Saad Al-Damen, Vice President of Schlumberger, said the contract will add 200,000 barrels per day to production at the field.

The Undersecretary at the Ministry of Oil, Hamid Younis, said that directional boring covers more area and reduces the water level in the oil wells.

The $480-million deal was agreed by the Iraqi cabinet in March.

(Source: Ministry of Oil)

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Cabinet approves $480m Drilling Deal in Southern Iraq

By John Lee.

The Iraqi Cabinet held its weekly meeting on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi.

Following discussions, the Cabinet approved a bid from Schlumberger to drill 96 wells for the Basra Oil Company (BOC) and ExxonMobil.

The company has previously worked at ExxonMobil’s West Qurna 1 field in southern Iraq.

The deal is valued at more than $480 million.

(Source: Office of the Prime Minister)

The post Cabinet approves $480m Drilling Deal in Southern Iraq first appeared on Iraq Business News.

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Iraq Contributes to Schlumberger Results

By John Lee.

US-based Schlumberger has reported that Iraq has contributed to its revenue growth in the region.

In its full-year results for 2019, the company said:

“Sequential international growth was led by the Middle East & Asia area, where revenue increased 5% driven by higher year-end product sales in Kuwait, Iraq, and Oman.”

(Source: Schlumberger)

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Schlumberger to Drill 40 Wells at Majnoon

By John Lee.

US-based Schlumberger has won a deal with Iraq’s Basra Oil Company (BOC) to drill 40 new wells at Majnoon oilfield.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Ministry of Oil also announced that the BOC had entered into a 19-month contract with the Iraqi Oil Exploration Company to carry out 2D and 3D seismic surveys at the field.

(Source: Ministry of Oil)

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New Firms Qualified for next Oil Licensing Round

By John Lee.

Iraq’s Petroleum Contracts and Licensing Directorate (PCLD) has announced the five additional companies have been approved to bid for Iraq’s “borderline onshore & offshore exploration blocks & fields.”

The companies are listed as:

  • Dana Gas (UAE)
  • Dragon Oil (UAE)
  • Geo-Jade Petroleum (China)
  • Schlumberger (USA)
  • Zarubezhneft (Russia)

Eight companies had applied for approval.

The five successful companies will be eligible to compete along with the following companies which are qualified from previous licensing rounds:

The areas to be offered include the onshore exploration blocks of Khudher Al-Mai, Jebel Sanam (Jabal Sanam) and Umm-Qasr on the Kuwaiti border; the Sindbad, Huwaiza, Shihabi, Zurbatia and Naft Khana blocks on the Iranian border; and the offshore exploration blocks in the Iraqi regional waters of the Arab gulf.

The bidding process should commence in May, according to the following schedule:

(Source: Oil Ministry)