Exxon and its partners on Monday agreed to proposed contract amendments submitted by the Oil Ministry, paving the way for a final deal, said Sabah Abdul Kadhim, the head of the legal section of Iraq's Petroleum Contracts and Licensing Directorate. "We both signed onto the amendments and the Oil Ministry set the 25th of this month to sign the final contract to develop West Qurna Phase One with Exxon Mobil," Kadhim told Reuters.
Progress on the agreement to boost output from the large oilfield to 2.325 million barrels per day from 279,000 bpd now came as the Oil Ministry signed a final contract with Malaysia's Petronas and Japan Exploration Co (Japex) to develop the smaller Gharaf oilfield. Gharaf, a field with estimated reserves of 900 million barrels, was won by Petronas and Japex in a fierce competition in Iraq's December auction of oil contracts, the second since the US invasion.
"It's a very proud moment for me and we are looking forward to working with our partner North Oil Company... I'm sure we will able to achieve targeted production levels," Datuk Abdullah Karim, Petronas' managing director, said in a speech. Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain ad-Sharistani, who attended the signing ceremony, said his ministry will establish a new state-run oil company - named Dhi Qar Oil Company after the province where Gharaf is located - when production from the field reaches higher levels. The deals emerging as a result of the two tenders last year have the potential to take Iraqi capacity to 12 million barrels per day - rivalling top producers Saudi Arabia and Russia - from 2.5 million bpd now.