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Shell hands over Majnoon Oilfield

By John Lee.

Shell has reportedly exited the Majnoon oilfield and handed over its operations to the Basra Oil Company (BOC).

Sources told Reuters that the handover was formalised on Wednesday, and that the process was “smooth“.

According to the news agency, Anton Oilfield Services (AntonOil) and Petrofac will now operate the giant oilfield on behalf of the BOC, under a two-year contract; last month, KBR announced that it will has been awarded a contract for the development of the field.

(Source: Reuters)

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KBR Confirms Contract to Develop Majnoon

KBR, Inc. announced today that it has been awarded a contract by the Basra Oil Company (BOC) for the development of the Majnoon Oil Field in Basra, Iraq.

Under the terms of the contract, KBR says it will provide overall project management, multi-discipline engineering support, procurement and construction management services to BOC under a two plus one year extendable service contract.

Jay Ibrahim (pictured), KBR President Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific region, commented:

“KBR has a long and rich history in Iraq and we are excited to be able to leverage our broad expertise in onshore oil and gas processing facilities across the project lifecycle as a true partner to BOC.

“This award highlights BOC’s confidence in KBR’s capabilities to deliver in multiple engineering discipline areas across a variety of projects. We look forward to transferring our knowledge and experience to local Iraqis in order to leave a lasting legacy in the country.“

A statement from the Ministry of Oil at the end of April put the value of the contracts with KBR and China’s Anton Oilfield Services Group (Antonoil) at $118 million, adding that there would be “other secondary contracts” to follow.

BOC is expected to take over operations at Majnoon from Shell by the end of June.

(Sources: KBR, Ministry of Oil)

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Shell plans Major Expansion at BGC

By John Lee.

Having sold its stake in the West Qurna 1 project to Japan’s Itochu, Shell is now said to be “fully committed” to the giant Basra Gas Company (BGC), which captures gas from Iraq’s southern oilfields.

Frits Klap, managing director of BGC, told Reuters that processing capacity has more than tripled to 938 million standard cubic feet (scf) per day since operations started in 2013, and further expansion is planned:

“We are going to go for something called BNGL, or Basra NGL (natural gas liquids) expansion, which really is going to take us from 1 bcf to 1.4 bcf through two trains, each of 200 million scf per day.”

Shell has a 44-percent stake in the $17-billion, 25-year project, with Iraq having 51 percent, and Japan’s Mitsubishi 5 percent.

More here.

(Source: Reuters)

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Antonoil, Petrofac to take over Majnoon from Shell

By John Lee.

Oil executives have told Reuters that the Iraqi Oil Ministry has signed a two-year contract with China’s Anton Oilfield Services (Antonoil) and Petrofac to operate the giant Majnoon oilfield (pictured).

The companies will operate the oilfield on behalf of the state-owned Basra Oil Company (BOC), which will take over operations from Shell by the end of June.

(Source: Reuters)

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KBR, Anton Oil to replace Shell at Majnoon?

By John Lee.

According to a report from Platts, the Iraqi oil ministry is about to award two management contracts to replace Shell at the Majnoon oil field.

Sources say the state-run Basra Oil Company (BOC) has opted to operate the field instead of replacing Shell, and junior partner Petronas, which announced last year it was relinquishing its 2010 technical service contract.

They added that KBR will play a project management consultant role, while China’s Anton Oil will handle production operations and management, ch after the recent oil price decline — which altered the financial equation for the contract.

More here from Platts.

(Source: Platts)

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GKP appoints new Non-Exec Chairman

Gulf Keystone Petroleum (GKP) has announced the appointment of Jacobus (“Jaap”) Huijskes as Non-Executive Chairman effective as of 11 April 2018, immediately following the announcement of the Company’s 2017 Full Year Results.  

Jaap Huijskes, who replaces Keith Lough as Chairman, joined the Board of Gulf Keystone in November 2017 as a Non-Executive Director.  Today’s news follows the January 2018 announcement of Mr Lough’s intention to step down from the Board.  Mr Huijskes selection was the result of a process undertaken by the Nominations Committee and was unanimously supported by the Board. 

Jaap Huijskes has had a distinguished career in the oil and gas sector, including relevant experience in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.  He was most recently a Director at OMV (AG:OMV), the largest listed Austrian oil and gas company, where he was responsible for Exploration and Production (E&P) and oversaw the Company’s expansion into new territories.  He also played a key role in OMV’s operations in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. 

Prior to this, Mr Huijskes held a number of senior positions at Shell, including Executive Vice President of Upstream Major Projects and Project Director at the Sakhalin Energy Investment Company, which was set up to develop the Sakhalin-II oil and gas project in Russia.  He holds a Masters in Mechanical Engineering from Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands. 

In addition to serving on the Board of Gulf Keystone, Mr Huijskes is currently Non-Executive Chairman of the Dutch state-owned integrated oil and gas company, Energie Beheer Nederland. He was a member of OMV’s Executive Board for E&P between 2010 and 2016.

Commenting on today’s announcement, Jaap Huijskes, said:

“I am delighted to have been selected to take on the Non-Executive Chairman role.  Gulf Keystone has a strong investment case, underpinned by a great asset and management team. 

“With recent positive progress, including the signing of the important Shaikan Crude Oil Sales Agreement, we are looking forward to recommencing investment into the field and generating value for our investors, as well as the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.  I look forward to leading the Board and supporting the Company at this exciting time.

“On behalf of the Board and everyone at GKP, I would like to thank Keith Lough for his leadership and significant contribution to the business over the past two years.  It was a challenging period for the Company and we are grateful for his hard work and wise counsel.  We wish him the very best for the future.”   

(Source: GKP)

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Shell Sells West Qurna-1 stake for $406m

Shell EP Middle East Holdings B.V. has agreed to sell the entire share capital of Shell Iraq B.V (SIBV), which holds its 19.6% stake in the West Qurna 1 oil field, for $406 million, to a subsidiary of Japan’s Itochu Corporation.

The purchaser will also assume debt of $144 million as part of the transaction. The sale has received the necessary regulatory consent, is expected to complete in the next few days, and has an effective date of 31 December 2015.

Since joining the project in 2009, Shell has enjoyed successful cooperation with its partners in the West Qurna 1 venture, which will continue to be operated by ExxonMobil.

Shell’s Upstream Director, Andy Brown (pictured), said:

“Iraq is an important country for the Shell Group, and exiting West Qurna 1 allows us to focus our resources on other assets in our Iraq portfolio. We are grateful for the support of the Iraqi government during the divestment process.

“Shell remains committed to working with its partners to redevelop Iraq’s energy infrastructure by capturing associated gas, through the Basrah Gas Company (BGC) Joint Venture, for domestic and regional consumption.

“This deal maintains the momentum behind Shell’s $30bn divestment programme and is in line with the drive to simplify our upstream portfolio and reshape the company into a world class investment.”

Shell’s other businesses in the country will not be affected by this divestment.

(Source: Shell)

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Saudi’s SABIC “in talks” to join Nebras Petchem Project

By John Lee.

Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) is in talks to join Iraq’s Nebras petrochemical project, according to a report from Reuters.

An advisor to Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi told the news agency at the CWC Iraq Petroleum Conference in Berlin that talks are at advanced stage at ministerial level.

He said SABIC would enter as a fourth partner in the project, along with Shell and the Iraqi oil and agriculture ministries.

(Source: Reuters)

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Majnoon Oil Output to Almost Double

By John Lee.

Iraq reportedly plans to increase production at the Majnoon oilfield from 240,000 bpd now to 450,000 barrels within three years.

Ahmed Abdul Razzaq, the head of a committee in charge of developing the field, told Reuters that the Basra Oil Company (BOC), which will take over operations from Shell, is studying proposals from three oilfield services companies to boost output at the field in southern Iraq.

(Source: Reuters)