OAO Lukoil issued an update on West Qurna-2 field in Iraq, saying its production has exceeded 280,000 b/d compared with 120,000 b/d when Lukoil started producing from the field in March.
West Qurna-2, still being developed, is expected to play a role in Iraq’s plans to increase production from its southern fields. Lukoil said the West Qurna project is being implemented on schedule.
Iraq has set a goal of producing 8.4 million b/d from its southern oil fields by yearend 2020, and West Qurna-2 is expected to contribute 1.2 million b/d by that date.
In an Aug. 19 news release, Lukoil said Sea Triumph, a crude oil tanker chartered by a Lukoil marketing subsidiary, has left the port of Basra with 1 million bbl, which was the first shipment of oil in reimbursement for Lukoil’s costs as part of the West Qurna-2 project.
Upon unloading, the oil will be transported for refining to its ISAB refinery in Priolo Gargallo near Siracusa in Sicily.