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Chinese Companies Win Al-Faw Projects

By John Lee.

Iraq’s Ministry of Oil has awarded the Al Faw [Al Fao] refinery and petrochemicals project to two Chinese companies.

In a statement, the ministy named the companies as Power China and “Nerco Chinese Companies“.

Mr. Assim Jihad, the spokesman of the Ministry,  said the refinery will have a capacity is 300,000 barrels/day.

He added that the project contains an integrated complex for petrochemicals, in addition to another facilities near the export port in Faw.

The ministry is planning to become self-sufficient in oil products by investing in the refining sector, and to become an exporting country.

Invitations will soon be issued to investment companies to participate in the Anbar refinery (150,000 bpd), Qayara refinery (10,000 bpd), and Thi-Qar [Dhi Qar] refinery (150,000 bpd), in addition to other projects to be announced soon.

(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)

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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)

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China’s Zhenhua Oil to develop East Baghdad Oilfield

China’s state-run Zhenhua Oil has agreed to develop the southern part of the East Baghdad oilfield.

Under the agreement, Zhenhua will increase production at the field by 40,000 barrels per day above current production, and provide gas for power stations in the Baghdad area.

Oil Minister Jabar Ali al-Luaibi [Allibi, Luiebi] said that this contract is different from previous service contracts, “because the form of the contract was modified to serve the public interest, and to depend on the local employment as 80% of the project staff.”

The contract will also involve the construction of an industrial city and “residential integrated city.”

Jim Bei, the manager of the Chinese company, said his company was keen to cooperate with the Ministry of Oil to develop the field and raise its production.

Zhenhua appears to also be involved in the nearby Ahdab oilfield.

According to Reuters, the East Baghdad fiel is estimated to have around 8 billion barrels of crude reserves, and the potential to produce 120,000 barrels of oil per day.

(Sources: Ministry of Oil, Reuters)

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Jereh Enters Iraqi Oil Market with Integrated Solutions

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Basra Oil, Gas & Infrastructure is held under the high patronage of the Basra Governorate, the Basra Council and Iraq’s Basra Oil Company from October 30 to 31 in Beirut, Lebanon. Government officials, project stakeholders and buyers and suppliers attend to explore the expanding energy projects in the South of Iraq.

Jereh Group made its debut in the panel discussion about investment. It displayed integrated solutions covering investment, financing, manufacturing, EPC to turnkey delivery under the Belt and Road Initiative. The solutions facilitate the development of local infrastructures and boost the economic growth.

Authoritative reports show that Iraq is OPEC’s second-largest crude oil producer and holds the fifth-largest proved crude oil reserves in the world. And Iraq is developing its oil fields and expanding infrastructure capacity in the south to accommodate more production growth. Large-scale increases in oil production would also require large increases in electric power generation. Significant upgrades to the electricity sector would be needed. To achieve this, reliable partnership and excellent investment and financing solutions are needed.

Johnson Jiang, President of Jereh Mid-East Region, made a keynote speech in front of more than 200 participants representing Basra’s thriving industries. He shared Jereh’s best practice in oil & gas, power and environment industry and what it can bring to the local industries, saying that:

“The China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative offers a unique opportunity for development and social progress among B&R countries. Jereh can provide flexible investment and financing mode to help Iraqi customers build a reliable and secure project. We also collaborate with global partners to provide customers with integrated solutions covering investment and financing, turnkey engineering, technical services and equipment manufacturing.”

Jereh is a preferred partner for the energy industry. Based on technology-driven innovation, a deep understanding of customer requirements, and unique expertise, it is committed to offering customers the optimal solutions and project execution. Jereh has been working with industry-leading International Oil Companies (IOCs) and National Oil Companies (NOCs) on turnkey engineering, well service equipment manufacturing, oilfield services and environmental management.

The company has a large number of implementation cases in Iraq and Middle East area in fields such as natural gas boosting and storage, nitrogen pumping, cementing and coiled tubing for oil production, and oily waste treatment. It also has extensive experience in delivering projects worldwide, supported by its local teams and abundant partners in more than 60 countries and regions.

“With the support of Belt and Road Initiative, Jereh will leverage its experience to conduct more cooperation in a compliant way in Iraq and provide private-sector investment to assist in developing Basra to provide the infrastructure that’s vital to boost the economic growth,” said Johnson.

(Source: Jereh Group)

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BHGE to supply Generators for Halfaya Oilfield

Baker Hughes, a GE company, has signed an agreement for the provision of turbine generators to PetroChina International Iraq, in the biggest Turbomachinery & Process Solutions (TPS) agreement ever between the two companies. 

BHGE will deliver its Frame 6B gas turbine electric generator trains to support power generation for the Halfaya oilfield located in the Maysan Governorate. The equipment will generate 150 MW of power for the project and leverage support from BHGE’s existing local and global workforce. The components of the turbo generator units will be manufactured and assembled at BHGE’s Nuovo Pignone facility in Florence, Italy.

Rami Qasem, President & CEO of MENAT & India, BHGE, said:

“This deal strengthens our local footprint in Iraq and further demonstrates our dedication to the region where we see great promise and have formed strong partnerships through ongoing projects and the development of local skills.

“The provision of our field-proven turbomachinery solutions enables international operators around the globe to safely and stably operate, all while reaching their oil production targets and staying on schedule. This is especially true for this particular contract, as our turbines will provide reliable and efficient energy to the Halfaya field and further support the sustainability of Iraq’s ongoing oil and gas operations.”

BHGE’s Frame 6 turbines are able to operate in extreme conditions and harsh environments across a wide range of applications, and have been proven and tested with more than 55 million operating hours.

The turbines are designed to be fully fuel flexible, possessing the ability to run on a wide range of gas or distillate liquids, including sour gas. This offers valuable cost saving to customers, as the turbines can run on the most economically available fuel for a given operation.  In addition to the Halfaya contract, the turbines have been used in multiple projects in the region.

The Halfaya oilfield was discovered in 1976 with 4.1 billion barrels in reserves and is situated in the southern part of Iraq in the country’s Maysan Governate. The field, operated by PetroChina International Iraq, currently produces approx. 200,000 barrels per day.

This agreement with PetroChina International Iraq further strengthens BHGE’s presence in the country, where it has contributed to several projects, including power generation support for two of Iraq’s largest fields – West Qurna and Rumaila – and retains a local footprint consisting of over 70% Iraqi employees.

BHGE also owns and operates a technical services facility in North Rumaila, which opened in 2013 and was expanded this summer. The facility offers a wide range of testing, repair and refurbishment services and has helped to create local employment opportunities and training for more than 2,000 Iraqi professionals.

(Source: BHGE)

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SOMO Awards Diesel Tenders

By John Lee.

Sources have told Reuters that China’s state-run Zhenhua Oil will supply diesel (500 parts per million (ppm) sulphur) to Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) through a term contract for the first time.

It will supply 600,000 tonnes of the 2.37 million tonnes sought by SOMO in a tender for delivery in the 2018 calendar year.

The company is part of defence conglomerate China North Industries Group Corp (NORINCO).

BB Energy, Litasco (the international marketing and trading arm of Russia’s Lukoil) and Lima Energy (a joint venture between Litasco and SOMO) will also supply about 25 percent each.

(Source: Reuters)

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Petrofac Awarded Iraq PMC from PetroChina

Petrofac has been awarded a contract, valued at around US$30 million, to undertake Project Management Consultancy (PMC) services for the Halfaya Contract Area (Halfaya) in southern Iraq.

Working in support of PetroChina International Iraq FZE (PetroChina), as the lead operator of Halfaya, Petrofac’s Engineering and Production Services (EPS) East business will undertake project management services for five years.

Petrofac is responsible for managing and supervising the development and progress of several engineering, procurement and construction work scopes including: the central processing facility, power plant expansion, gas process plant and all associated facilities. For each work scope, activities will include the management of detailed design, procurement, construction and commissioning.

Manivannan Rajapathy, Managing Director, Petrofac EPS East said:

“This important award reflects our growing capabilities in a core market. Through the provision of PMC services, we are demonstrating our competence and capabilities to oversee large programmes of work. This builds upon our long track record for in-country execution for existing clients, through the delivery of engineering, operations, maintenance and training activities.

“We are pleased to have the opportunity to support PetroChina and the Halfaya partners in the delivery of this key infrastructure project. Our focus is to support sustained production, through the successful conclusion of each phase, towards the overall production plateau target of around 400,000 barrels per day.”

(Source: Petrofac)

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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)