By John Lee.
Under the patronage of Oil Minister Hayyan Abdul Ghani, Basra Oil Company (BOC)organized a ceremony for the handover of the main operator role for the West Qurna 1 oilfield.
The event, attended by the Ministry’s Deputy for Extraction Affairs Basim Mohammed Khudair, marked the transfer of management responsibilities to China’s PetroChina, replacing ExxonMobil as part of an agreement settling ExxonMobil’s stake in the field.
Basra Oil Company has become a major partner in managing the field, holding a 22.7-percent stake, alongside PetroChina, Pertamina from Indonesia, Itochu from Japan, and the government partner, the Oil Exploration Company.
The subsequent holding in the field are: PetroChina 32.7%; Basra Oil Company (BOC) 22.7%; Itochu 19.6%; Pertamina 20%; and Oil Exploration Company 5%.
The current production capacity of the field exceeds 500,000 barrels per day. Both the South Gas Company (SGC) and Basra Gas Company (BGC) are involved in utilizing the associated gas from the field.
(Source: Ministry of Oil)