Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Iraq issues tender to drill 50 oil wells in Missan
Oil, Business
(Azzaman) Iraq has issued a tender to drill 50 new oil wells in the southern Province of Missan. The director of the province’s oil fields, Ali al-Bahadli, said 13 foreign firms have been invited to take part in the tender aimed at boosting output by an additional 100,000 barrels a day. The Province of Missan is home to some of the largest hitherto unexplored Iraqi oil fields.
The gigantic West Gurna with billions of barrels of proven crude oil reserves is situated in Missan whose oil wells used to produce up to 400,000 barrels a day under former leader Saddam Hussein. But output has slumped to 120,000 barrels a day since the 2003 U.S. invasion. It is not clear whether any foreign firms will be willing to participate in the tender due to the current upsurge in violence.
Bahadli said the digging of the new wells would take about two years and each one of them was expected to add at least 2,000 barrels a day to the province’s output. Iraq has the third largest proven oil reserves in the world behind Saudi Arabia and Iran. Its total proven reserves are estimated at 112 billion barrels, with as many as 220 billion barrels of resourced deemed probable. Of the country’s 74 discovered and evaluated oil fields, only 15 have been developed.
The gigantic West Gurna with billions of barrels of proven crude oil reserves is situated in Missan whose oil wells used to produce up to 400,000 barrels a day under former leader Saddam Hussein. But output has slumped to 120,000 barrels a day since the 2003 U.S. invasion. It is not clear whether any foreign firms will be willing to participate in the tender due to the current upsurge in violence.
Bahadli said the digging of the new wells would take about two years and each one of them was expected to add at least 2,000 barrels a day to the province’s output. Iraq has the third largest proven oil reserves in the world behind Saudi Arabia and Iran. Its total proven reserves are estimated at 112 billion barrels, with as many as 220 billion barrels of resourced deemed probable. Of the country’s 74 discovered and evaluated oil fields, only 15 have been developed.
Labels: Missan, oil wells, tender
