By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Jan. 27 -- The Iraqi government has signed another technical services contract for redevelopment of a giant oil field.
Eni, Occidental Petroleum Corp., and Korea Gas Corp. agreed with state-owned South Oil Co. and Missan Oil Co. as state partner to redevelop Zubair field near Basra. The companies signed an initial agreement last November (OGJ Online, Nov. 16, 2009).
Led by Eni, the consortium plans to increase Zubair production from its current level of about 200,000 b/d to 1.2 million b/d within 6 years and to keep output at that level for 7 years.
The group will earn $2/bbl on incremental production after output has increased 10%. The agreement includes a cost-recovery mechanism.
Zubair Field Operating Division will manage the rehabilitation and expansion project, staffed mainly by employees of South Oil Co.
Interests are Eni 32.81%, Oxy 23.44%, Korea Gas 18.75%, and Missan Oil 25%.
The ministry describes Zubair as a series of structural traps in a northwest-southeast trending anticline about 20 km southwest of the city of Basrah.
The field has four domes named Al-Hamar, Shuaiba, Rafidyah, and Safwan. Safwan extends into Kuwait, where it is known as Abdalli field.
Zubair has produced from the Upper Cretaceous Mishrif formation and upper and lower units of the Lower Cretaceous Zubair formation, all candidates for redevelopment.
The government recently has signed service contracts for similar work by a group led by ExxonMobil Iraq Ltd. at West Qurna oil field (first phase) and by Royal Dutch Shell PLC in Majnoon oil field, both giants in southern Iraq (OGJ Online, Jan. 18, 2009, and Jan. 25, 2009).
