Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Rehabilitation of major southern oil field will lead to further production
Oil
(United Press International) - Increased rehabilitation in a key Iraqi oil field has been completed, setting the stage for more production and drilling of new wells. "The rehabilitation of the Sayed Nour oil field, eastern Amara, will immensely contribute to sustaining the overall production capacity of al-Bazarkan oil complex, which already reaches 120,000 barrels per day," a spokesman told the Voices of Iraq news agency.
Iraq produces 2 million bpd from the world's third-largest reserves of oil, which could sustain higher production numbers. The goal of increased production has been hampered by a long list of repairs to a sector mismanaged by Saddam Hussein and held back by U.N. sanctions. It has also been hit hard in the past four plus years by operating in a war zone and with a government unable to spend the necessary capital.
Each of the five Sayed Nour field's wells has a production capacity of 15,000 bpd. There are also plans to drill new wells in the oil province of Missan, in Bazarkan, Hilfaya and Fakka, which will take two years to complete and boost capacity by 100,000 bpd, the source said.
Iraq produces 2 million bpd from the world's third-largest reserves of oil, which could sustain higher production numbers. The goal of increased production has been hampered by a long list of repairs to a sector mismanaged by Saddam Hussein and held back by U.N. sanctions. It has also been hit hard in the past four plus years by operating in a war zone and with a government unable to spend the necessary capital.
Each of the five Sayed Nour field's wells has a production capacity of 15,000 bpd. There are also plans to drill new wells in the oil province of Missan, in Bazarkan, Hilfaya and Fakka, which will take two years to complete and boost capacity by 100,000 bpd, the source said.
Labels: al-Bazarkan oil complex, Amarah, Bazarkan, Fakka, Hilfaya, Missan, Sayed Nour oil field
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Authorities in Amara sign contract for construction of 'tourist town'
(Azzaman) - The provincial authorities in Amara have signed a contract for the construction of a tourist town with the aim of turning this southern city reputed for its marshes and ancient Mesopotamian sites into a tourist attraction. The town to be built on the banks of the Tigris River will include a modern hotel, houses, a supermarket and playgrounds.
The authorities say the relative quiet in the Province of Missan of which Amara is the capital has encouraged them to go ahead with plans to build modern tourist infrastructure in the area. In the province are the remains of the Sumerian civilization which flourished in southern Iraq nearly 5,000 years ago. The Sumerians were the world’s most literate people in their time. To them are attributed the invention of writing and the wheel.
The authorities say the relative quiet in the Province of Missan of which Amara is the capital has encouraged them to go ahead with plans to build modern tourist infrastructure in the area. In the province are the remains of the Sumerian civilization which flourished in southern Iraq nearly 5,000 years ago. The Sumerians were the world’s most literate people in their time. To them are attributed the invention of writing and the wheel.
Friday, May 11, 2007
Study - 50 per cent of deaths due to cancer in southern Iraq
Health
(Azzaman) - Cancer-related death rates have increased substantially in southern Iraq particularly in the provinces of Basra and Missan, a medical study has found. The study by the Basra University’s Medical College scientists said cancerous diseases are now the cause of “a large percentage of deaths” in southern Iraq.
It said 10 different cancers were prevalent in the region. The researchers used hospital morgue statistics for their investigation and findings. The study reveals that 56.3 per cent of all male deaths in southern Iraq are caused by cancer. “Cancer-related female deaths amount to 43.7 per cent,” the study said.
Meanwhile, another study by Basra University’s Maritime Research Center has shown that pesticides were being used excessively in Iraq leading to detrimental impact on the environment and agricultural produce. The high concentration of chemical substances in water and locally produced vegetables and other foods was much higher than normal standards, the study said. It said chemicals were even being used in fishing. “The high percentage usage of chemicals particularly in southern Iraq has an adverse impact even on breast feeding and pregnant women,” it said.
It said 10 different cancers were prevalent in the region. The researchers used hospital morgue statistics for their investigation and findings. The study reveals that 56.3 per cent of all male deaths in southern Iraq are caused by cancer. “Cancer-related female deaths amount to 43.7 per cent,” the study said.
Meanwhile, another study by Basra University’s Maritime Research Center has shown that pesticides were being used excessively in Iraq leading to detrimental impact on the environment and agricultural produce. The high concentration of chemical substances in water and locally produced vegetables and other foods was much higher than normal standards, the study said. It said chemicals were even being used in fishing. “The high percentage usage of chemicals particularly in southern Iraq has an adverse impact even on breast feeding and pregnant women,” it said.
Labels: Basra, Basra University Medical College, cancer, health, medical study, Missan
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Missan council invites regional and international reconstruction bids
Business, Reconstruction
(VOI) – Missan has received offers from Iraqi, Arab and foreign investors to launch projects in the oil, industrial, agricultural and service sectors in the province, an Iraqi official said on Friday. "The offers came thanks to the province's stable security conditions and investment outlets that would contribute to building infrastructures in the province that suffered from negligence for many decades," Taha al-Dayf, the chairman of the Missan investment committee, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).
Dayf added that the Missan local council had received investment offers from Arab and global corporations in the fields oil, power and establishment of tourist cities, referring to a company that offered bids worth 12 billion Iraqi dinars (roughly 9,436,188 million U.S. dollars) to establish vital projects to re-build the city. "There are other offers "to invest oilfields and build first-class hotels and residential compounds," said Dayf. The local council in Missan, 390 km south of Baghdad, had invited Iraqi, Arab and foreign investors to start business projects in the province namely in the service and infrastructure sectors, praising security conditions in the province compared to other Iraqi provinces.
Labels: agriculture, bids, industry, Missan, oil, reconstruction, Taha al-Dayf
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Changes to draft oil law discussed
Oil
(BI-ME) - Experts specialised in the oil sector and academics confirmed, at a symposium held in the city of Amarah in Southern Iraq, that the bill of oil and gas which is currently being discussed by the Parliament for approval “needs a review and adjustments” that are considered “essential”. They pointed out that there is a need “to ensure that the controversial draft law, will include compensations to the governorates producing oil and gas, with Missan Governate (bordering Iran) at the top, for the environmental damage caused by oil and gas exploration, and for agricultural land use in oil production”.
The symposium came out with other recommendations demanding not to work by the sharing-production contracts and stick to the risk and service contracts only on condition that any contract cannot be carried out only after gaining the consent of the oil and gas Federal Council. The seminar also proposed adding supplement 3 to supplement 2, and make it from the jurisdictions of the National Oil Company exclusively. Also, the contracts with oil companies must ensure the implementation of oil investment projects and give priority to extraction and production from the border fields, especially the ones common with the neighboring countries, giving priority to contracts that ensure marketing. Oil expert, Jassim Raheem Al-Ithari, said that “the law should be presented for broad discussion before it is approved”, noting that “articles 111 and 112 of the Constitution did not refer to the other national wealth other than oil and gas. Also the constitutional articles especially article 112, did not refer to the exploited fields that require resolving the controversy about them”.
The symposium recommended the adoption of the Amman symposium recommendations held recently on the new law. The legal expert in the Iraqi Oil Ministry, Jabbar Alsaidi, pointed out to “the importance of enhancing an Iraqi oil law, re-establishing the National Oil Company and to amend articles 111 and 112 of the Constitution, to pave the way for some of the parties to sign contracts without referring to Baghdad.”
He explained that the Cabinet “authorised” some bodies described by “regional” to negotiate and sign contracts just like the Ministry of Oil and the National Oil Company. The symposium stressed “the need for the parliament to ratify all contracts and the nomination of a supreme body to resolve the arising disputes“, suggesting “their settlement through the Federal Court”.
The symposium came out with other recommendations demanding not to work by the sharing-production contracts and stick to the risk and service contracts only on condition that any contract cannot be carried out only after gaining the consent of the oil and gas Federal Council. The seminar also proposed adding supplement 3 to supplement 2, and make it from the jurisdictions of the National Oil Company exclusively. Also, the contracts with oil companies must ensure the implementation of oil investment projects and give priority to extraction and production from the border fields, especially the ones common with the neighboring countries, giving priority to contracts that ensure marketing. Oil expert, Jassim Raheem Al-Ithari, said that “the law should be presented for broad discussion before it is approved”, noting that “articles 111 and 112 of the Constitution did not refer to the other national wealth other than oil and gas. Also the constitutional articles especially article 112, did not refer to the exploited fields that require resolving the controversy about them”.
The symposium recommended the adoption of the Amman symposium recommendations held recently on the new law. The legal expert in the Iraqi Oil Ministry, Jabbar Alsaidi, pointed out to “the importance of enhancing an Iraqi oil law, re-establishing the National Oil Company and to amend articles 111 and 112 of the Constitution, to pave the way for some of the parties to sign contracts without referring to Baghdad.”
He explained that the Cabinet “authorised” some bodies described by “regional” to negotiate and sign contracts just like the Ministry of Oil and the National Oil Company. The symposium stressed “the need for the parliament to ratify all contracts and the nomination of a supreme body to resolve the arising disputes“, suggesting “their settlement through the Federal Court”.
Labels: Amarah, draft oil law, Iraq National Oil Co., Jabbar Alsaidi, Jassim Raheem Al-Ithari, Ministry of Oil, Missan
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Foreign firms offer to develop Missan's oil fields
Oil
(Azzaman) - The authorities in the southern province of Missan say they have received several requests from foreign firms to develop the province’s gigantic oil fields. The officials refused to name the firms but said the relative stability which the province currently enjoys was luring both foreign and Iraq entrepreneurs to invest.
The province, which borders Iran, is among Iraq’s most impoverished with a rickety infrastructure. It was a battle scene in the eight years of Iraq-Iran war. “The provincial council has received offers from international and Arab firms to invest in the oil sector,” said Taha al-Dhaif, head of the Development Commission in the province. He said investors were also interested in developing the province’s tourist infrastructure and have made several offers to construct hotels and other tourist installations.
Some of the finest Iraqi marshes are situated in the province and the officials said the wetlands were flourishing once again and the authorities were considering ways to turn into tourist attractions. Dhaif said the council has an offer from a foreign firm to develop the massive West Gurna oil field, one of the largest unexplored oil fields in the country.
He said the council was keen to attract investors to help reduce the high unemployment rate and fight poverty. The province relies mainly on agricultural produce as its huge oil fields, with billions of barrels of proven oil reserves, remain undeveloped. Dhaif said the province was in need of power stations and it has already received an offer to construct one. There have been requests to construct housing apartments, and rehabilitate idle industries such as the prefab factory.
Iraq has the third largest proven oil reserves in the world behind Saudi Arabia and Iran. It is 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.
Some of the finest Iraqi marshes are situated in the province and the officials said the wetlands were flourishing once again and the authorities were considering ways to turn into tourist attractions. Dhaif said the council has an offer from a foreign firm to develop the massive West Gurna oil field, one of the largest unexplored oil fields in the country.
He said the council was keen to attract investors to help reduce the high unemployment rate and fight poverty. The province relies mainly on agricultural produce as its huge oil fields, with billions of barrels of proven oil reserves, remain undeveloped. Dhaif said the province was in need of power stations and it has already received an offer to construct one. There have been requests to construct housing apartments, and rehabilitate idle industries such as the prefab factory.
Iraq has the third largest proven oil reserves in the world behind Saudi Arabia and Iran. It is 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: foreign firms, Maysan, Missan, oil fields, Taha al-Dhaif, West Qurna
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
