Three Iraqi oil fields sought for development

March 22, 2011
San Leon Energy PLC and its joint venture partner Iraq Al Meinaa Oil Services Co., Baghdad, have signed a joint participation agreement with the Governorate Council of Karbala in central Iraq.

By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Mar. 22
-- San Leon Energy PLC and its joint venture partner Iraq Al Meinaa Oil Services Co., Baghdad, have signed a joint participation agreement with the Governorate Council of Karbala in central Iraq.

Under the agreement, San Leon, Al Meinaa, and the governorate will submit a joint proposal to the Iraq Ministry of Oil to develop Kifl, West Kifl, and Merjan oil fields south of Baghdad under a production-sharing contract. Formal negotiations are to start soon.

San Leon Energy said the project could recover an estimated 600 million bbl of oil. There was no indication when production might begin.

The three fields are on northwest-southeast trending structures in an area known as Middle Furat. Merjan is 2.5 by 2 km, West Kifl is 10 by 8 km, and Kifl is 5 by 1.5 km. Oil has been tested in three Cretaceous reservoirs and one Jurassic reservoir, while strong oil shows were observed in one Triassic reservoir.

Kifl was discovered in 1960, Merjan in 1983, and West Kifl in 1987.

Six wells have been drilled in the Middle Furat Fields Contract Area: four in Kifl, one in Merjan, and one in West Kifl. Wells in each of the three fields have been drilled below the Cretaceous to Jurassic/Triassic in Kifl, to Jurassic in Merjan, and to Permian in West Kifl.

Iraq had offered the three fields in its second license round (OGJ Online, Dec. 31, 2008).