MEOG: Iraq turns to Majnoon

In this week’s MEOG, we look at Iraq’s plans to ramp up output from one of its biggest fields as it chases down its ambitious oil production target.

Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar this week attended a ceremony at the Majnoon oilfield and expressed optimism about the asset’s future as the country seeks to drive a significant increase in national oil production.

After laying the foundation stones for the Majnoon Field Production and Development Authority HQ and electronic control building and a project to capture and utilise sour gas from Majnoon, Abdul Jabbar said: “We aim to increase [oil] production to 450,000 barrels per day”.

The update is the latest in a string of target and plan announcements by the Ministry of Oil (MoO) as it seeks to expand oil production capacity from the current 5mn bpd to 8mn bpd by 2027.

Data seen by Middle East Oil & Gas (MEOG) suggests that Majnoon has a current capacity of around 240,000 bpd. With reserves of nearly 13bn barrels, Majnoon, which translates as ‘insane’, is one of Iraq’s largest fields, but so far failed to fulfil much of its potential. It is currently being developed by Basra Oil Co. (BOC), a subsidiary of the recently re-established Iraqi National Oil Co (INOC).

Meanwhile, the services arm of Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) this week signed its first commercial contract, to carry out an onshore seismic survey in Block 56 for Swedish operator Tethys Oil.

The contract is valued at $14mn and will see PDO-S run a 2,018-square km 3D seismic acquisition programme with Tethys to carry out an exploration campaign by the end of 2023 following an extension to the exploration and production-sharing agreement (EPSA).

Following the contract signing, PDO managing director Steve Phimister said: “Signing this contract with Tethys Oil Oman Onshore is a great milestone for PDO-S [to have] achieved in a relatively short time after its establishment. It is a true demonstration of how PDO-S is delivering its key value drivers by filling supply chain gaps in the oil and gas market in Oman.”

Meanwhile, his Tethys Oil counterpart, Dr Fredrik Robelius, said that PDO-S’s “state-of-the-art technology [would] help […] unlock the great potential in Block 56.”