Lukoil starts production at West Qurna-2 field

March 31, 2014
Lukoil Mid-East Ltd. has started production at Iraq’s West Quarna-2 oil field after reaching its target of 120,000 b/d on Mar. 28. The company says it must maintain that level of production for the next 90 days to begin receiving a return on investment, based on a 2010 agreement with the Iraqi government.

Lukoil Mid-East Ltd. has started production at Iraq’s West Qurna-2 oil field after reaching its target of 120,000 b/d on Mar. 28. The company says it must maintain that level of production for the next 90 days to begin receiving a return on investment, based on a 2010 agreement with the Iraqi government.

Located 65 km from Basra, Iraq, West Qurna-2 holds reserves of 14 billion bbl in two main formations, Mishrif and Yamama. Lukoil says it will develop the field in three phases with early oil production from Mishrif at 400,000 b/d, full-field Mishrif at 550,000 b/d, and a production plateau of 1.2 million b/d with the addition of Yamama formation reserves. The company believes it can maintain that plateau for nearly 20 years.

Lukoil has completed a 400,000 b/d capacity central processing facility, 48 development wells, 5 well pads, a 126-Mw capacity gas-turbine power plant, water intake from the Euphrates River, and an export pipeline to the Tuba tank farm, more than 100 km from the field (OGJ Online, Mar. 22, 2012).

Lukoil owns a 75% stake in the development of West Qurna-2 after acquiring Statoil’s interest in the field (OGJ Online, June 1, 2012). State-owned North Oil Co. holds 25%.