Sunday, November 11, 2007
Iraq - Iran pipeline may be built
Oil
(UPI) -- Iraq and Iran may be moving ahead on a cross-river oil pipeline, a move the Iraq ministry has talked about but was further down the road. Media reports are carrying the word of a source in Iraq’s South Oil Co. that the pipeline construction has started. The South Oil Co. is a state-owned entity producing and transporting oil from Basra and surrounding areas, where 80 percent of Iraq’s oil reserves are located.
The Kuwait News Agency reports the construction of the pipeline between ports in Basra and the Abaadan port in Iran, crossing the Shatt al-Arab river. The pipeline capacity would be 200,000 barrels per day, and provide another route for Iraq exports and allowing an increase in production, the Al Mashriq newspaper reports.
Iraq produces just over 2 million barrels per day right now, but with 115 billion barrels of proven reserves, it could handle much more. Iraq and Iran had apparently signed a deal on the pipeline, though details are not known. Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani has confirmed it as one of many options to increase production and exports of the oil.
Labels: Abaadan port, Basra, Hussain al-Shahristani, Iran, Iraq, oil pipeline, South Oil Company
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Total and Chevron submit development plans for Majnoon
Oil
(Dow Jones) - Oil giants Total SA (TOT) and Chevron Corp. (CVX) have jointly submitted to the Iraqi Oil Ministry a study on the development of one of Iraq's biggest oil fields, Majnoon, in the south of the country, a ministry statement said Tuesday. "Total and Chevron jointly prepared studies about Majnoon oil field and were submitted to the ministry on the form of a memorandum of understanding," said the statement, a copy of which was obtained by Dow Jones Newswires.
"The ministry has set up a committee headed by Director General of the South Oil Company, Abdul Jabbar Lauby, to study the possibility of signing a memorandum of understanding with the two companies," the statement said. However, if a memorandum of understanding is signed with these two companies that doesn't imply they have been promised the right to develop the field, the statement noted.
"The ministry has set up a committee headed by Director General of the South Oil Company, Abdul Jabbar Lauby, to study the possibility of signing a memorandum of understanding with the two companies," the statement said. However, if a memorandum of understanding is signed with these two companies that doesn't imply they have been promised the right to develop the field, the statement noted.
Labels: Abdul Jabbar Lauby, Chevron Corp., Iraqi oil ministry, Majnoon, South Oil Company, Total SA
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Korea and Japan invited to dialogue with South Oil Company
Oil, Business
(Iraq Directory) - The Iraqi Oil Minister Hussein Shahrastani invited Korean and Japanese companies to engage in a dialogue with the South Oil Company to develop the currently discovered fields in the southern region within the ministry's plan to develop and increase production rates in these fields. Assim Jihad, the media spokesman of the Ministry, reported on Shahrastani, before leaving last Saturday with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki along with a high-level delegation to Japan and Korea, saying: "We encourage Korean and Japanese companies to begin talks immediately with the South Oil Company to enter into contracts to develop oilfields in the southern region”.
Shahrastani pointed out that Iraq possesses many giant fields, but the quantities produced do not commensurate with the existing reserve in these fields, and that is why we are developing these fields through the National Oil Company in cooperation with foreign companies, noting: we are pleased that Japanese and Korean companies are showing great interest in developing the fields, especially in certain areas, including the field of oil in Nasiriyah and a giant field in the east of Baghdad.
Labels: Hussain al-Shahrastani, investment, Japan, Korea, South Oil Company
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Bomb strikes oil pipeline near Kuwiati border
Oil, Security
(AP) - A bomb struck an oil pipeline Thursday, cutting off supplies and causing a huge fire in southern Iraq near the border with Kuwait, an official said. The pipeline carries oil from surrounding fields to storage tanks in Basra for export to the Gulf region, according to the official with the South Oil Co. But he said the tanks were full and export supplies had not yet been affected.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak to the media, said the explosion occurred about midnight and the fire raged for hours before it was extinguished in the afternoon. He said oil had stopped flowing from the fields to the storage tanks but supplies were sufficient and exports were not affected.
The attack occurred just north of Safwan near the border with Kuwait, the official said, adding that he expected the fire to be extinguished later Thursday. The Oil Ministry in Baghdad could not immediately be reached for comment.
Iraq exports about 2 million barrels of oil a day of which about 1.6 million barrels are exported through the port of Basra and come 300,000 are being pumped from the northern city of Kirkuk to the Turkish port of Ceyhan. Oil production has plummeted since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003 as the oil pipelines have faced repeated insurgent sabotage, attacks on maintenance crews, alleged corruption, theft and mismanagement.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak to the media, said the explosion occurred about midnight and the fire raged for hours before it was extinguished in the afternoon. He said oil had stopped flowing from the fields to the storage tanks but supplies were sufficient and exports were not affected.
The attack occurred just north of Safwan near the border with Kuwait, the official said, adding that he expected the fire to be extinguished later Thursday. The Oil Ministry in Baghdad could not immediately be reached for comment.
Iraq exports about 2 million barrels of oil a day of which about 1.6 million barrels are exported through the port of Basra and come 300,000 are being pumped from the northern city of Kirkuk to the Turkish port of Ceyhan. Oil production has plummeted since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003 as the oil pipelines have faced repeated insurgent sabotage, attacks on maintenance crews, alleged corruption, theft and mismanagement.
Labels: bomb, oil pipeline, Safwan, South Oil Company
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
15 Arab, Asian and U.S. firms invited to drill in Iraq
Oil
(Reuters) - Iraq has issued invitations for 15 Arab, Asian and American firms to drill 100 oil wells in the country’s south as part of efforts to boost production, the oil ministry spokesman said yesterday. Asim Jihad said the invitations, issued at the end of March, would close at the end of May. The state-run South Oil Company will review the offers, he said.
He said among the companies invited were Syrian, Iranian and Chinese firms.“We want to drill 50 wells in Maysan (province) and 50 in Basra. It will take from one year to three years,” he said. “These new wells will give us between 50,000 to 60,000 bpd.” Iraq has the world’s third-largest proven oil reserves and needs billions of dollars to revive its oil sector. Most of Iraq’s proven oil reserves are in the Shia south or the Kurdish north.
Iraq’s cabinet has endorsed a draft oil law regulating how wealth from the vast oil reserves will be shared by its ethnic and sectarian groups.The world’s top oil companies have been manoeuvring for years to win a stake in Iraq’s prized oilfields such as Bin Umar, Majnoon, Nassiriyah, West Qurna and Ratawi – all located in the south of the country. The oil law which is still awaiting parliament’s ratification has given the regions the right to negotiate with international firms on developing oilfields.
Labels: Asim Jihad, Basra, Maysan, oil wells, South Oil Company
