Majnoon
Majnoon oil field is located in Iraq
Majnoon oil field
Location of Majnoon
CountryIraq
Locationnear Basra
Offshore/onshoreonshore
Coordinates31°18′N 47°22′E / 31.3°N 47.36°E / 31.3; 47.36
OperatorAnton Oilfield Services
Petrofac
PartnersBasra Oil Company (BOC) - 45%
Petronas - (30%)
Missan Oil Company - (25%)
Service contractorsKBR
Field history
Discovery1975
Production
Current production of oil245,000 barrels per day (~1.22×10^7 t/a)
Estimated oil in place12,600 million barrels (~1.72×10^9 t)
Producing formationsUpper Cretaceous

The Majnoon Oil Field is a super-giant oil field located 60 km (37 mi) from Basra in southern Iraq.[1] Majnoon is one of the richest oil fields in the world with an estimated 38 billion barrels of oil in place. The field was named Majnoon which means crazy in Arabic in reference to excessive amount of oil in a dense area.[2]

History

The field was discovered by Braspetro, a Brazilian company in 1975, under the leadership of Bolivar Montenegro Guerra in a shallow Upper Cretaceous formation.[2] Development came to a halt in 1980 during the engineering phase of the project, due to Iran–Iraq War, particularly Operation Kheibar. At the time, Braspetro had finished drilling of 20 wells and pressed 14 drilling rigs into service. In the course of the war, Iran occupied and sabotaged the area. After the war, Southern Oil Company of Iraq restarted the production. In 1990's, Total S.A. of France negotiated a development contract with Saddam Hussein but was unable to sign the deal due to United Nations sanctions imposed on Iraq. The deal was eventually annulled by Hussein in 2002. Due to the 2003 Iraq War, production was reduced to 46,000 barrels per day (7,300 m3/d).[2] In 2007, Total and Chevron signed an agreement with Iraqi government to explore Majnoon field.[3]

On December 11, 2009, the Iraqi government awarded a license to a joint venture from Royal Dutch Shell and Petronas to take over operations at Majnoon Oilfield, and triple production from the estimated reserve of nearly 12.6 billion barrels (2.00×109 m3) at a fee rate of $1.39/barrel.[4][5] The consortium was awarded the contract out of 44 international companies, participating in the auction, with China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), ExxonMobil, Sinochem Corporation, Total specifically bidding on Majnoon field.[6] The finalist alliance of CNPC and Total offering $1.75/barrel lost the bid.[3] The deal intends a 20-year service and development of the field.[7][8] The contract was approved by Council of Ministers of Iraq on January 5, 2010.[9]

Shell agreed at the end of 2017 to exit the venture and hand over its operation to Basra Oil Company (BOC) by the end of June 2018. Shell was the operator and holder of 45 percent at Majnoon, with Malaysia's Petronas owning 30 percent, and Iraq's Missan Oil Company holding the remaining 25 percent. In June 2018 officials from Shell and Basra Oil Company met to mark the handing over of the operations of the field.

In April 2018, Anton Oilfield Services signed Integrated Facilities Management Services Contract (IFMS) a two-year deal with Iraq's oil ministry with a one year extension option to operate the maintenance and production of the Majnoon field on behalf of Basra Oil Company.[10]

In January 2021, Anton Oilfield Services and Basra Oil Company agreed to renew the IFMS for two more years of one year extension option.

In May 2018, KBR, Inc. announced that it has been awarded an engineering, procurement and construction management contract (EPCM) by Basra Oil Company (BOC) for the development of project and construction side of the Majnoon Oil Field in Basra, Iraq.[11]

Licences

Until June 2018 (when Shell - the operator exited) Shell held a 45% stake in all licences, Petronas 30% and Iraqi Ministry of Oil 25%.[12]

Reservoir

Majnoon's first pay zone consists of Upper Cretaceous which proved 4,000 barrels (640 m3) of oil per day. Mishrif carbonates, Nahr Umr sands (Middle Cretaceous) and Shuaiba carbonates and Zubair sands (Lower Cretaceous) form the pay zones.[2]

Production

According to the deal, the consortium will increase production to a peak 1.8 million barrels (290,000 m3) of oil per day within seven-year period.[1] Majnoon was the first Iraqi field out of 10 major ones offered to international companies for development.[2] The contract with Shell and Petronas includes drilling over 40 production wells, construction of three gas separation stations and two crude oil processing refineries with overall capacity of 100,000 barrels per day (16,000 m3/d).[1][2] The official start date was March 1, 2010.[13] In the Phase I of the project, the consortium intends to increase the production from 45,000 to 175,000 barrels per day (27,800 m3/d) within two-year period.[1][14]

The production at Majnoon will move Iraq from the current 11th place to the 3rd among oil producing nations after Saudi Arabia and Iran.[13] The country sits on 150 billion of oil and currently produces 2.5 million barrels per day (400,000 m3/d). Iraq expects to top the oil production to 7 million barrels per day (1,100,000 m3/d) within six years, thus competing with Saudi Arabia.[2]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Adal Mirza (2010-04-25). "Iraq agrees Majnoon oilfield development plan". MEED. Middle East business intelligence since 1957. Retrieved 2010-05-21.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Offshore-technology.com Majnoon Field, Iraq". Retrieved 2010-05-21.
  3. 1 2 Williams, Timothy (2009-12-11). "Under Tight Security, Iraq Sells Rights to Develop 2 Oil Fields". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-12-11.
  4. ↑ "Iraq oil development rights contracts awarded". BBC News. 2009-12-11. Retrieved 2009-12-11.
  5. ↑ "Shell signs initial deal to develop Majnoon oilfield". France 24. 2009-12-12. Retrieved 2009-12-11.
  6. ↑ "Iraq oil development rights contracts awarded". BBC News. 2009-12-11. Retrieved 2010-05-21.
  7. ↑ Hassan Hafidh (2009-12-07). "Iraq's Giant Majnoon Oil Field to Top Friday's Auction". Rigzone. Retrieved 2010-05-21.
  8. ↑ Hassan Hafidh; James Herron (2009-12-11). "Shell Consortium Wins Contract on Iraq's Majnoon Oil Field". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2010-05-21.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ↑ "Iraq and Shell consortium sign the Majnoon Oilfield contract" (Press release). Shell. 2010-01-17. Retrieved 2010-05-21.
  10. ↑ "Shell Exits Majnoon Oil Field In Iraq". OilPrice.com. Retrieved 2019-01-09.
  11. ↑ "KBR Awarded EPCM Contract by BOC to Develop Majnoon Field in Iraq". kbr.com. Retrieved 2019-01-09.
  12. ↑ "Royal Dutch Shell plc welcomes Iraq Majnoon contract award" (Press release). Royal Dutch Shell. 2009-12-11. Archived from the original on 2009-12-14. Retrieved 2009-12-11.
  13. 1 2 "Shell to Boost Iraq Majnoon Oil Output, Eyes Gas". Iraq Business News. 2010-03-30. Retrieved 2010-05-21.
  14. ↑ Luke Pachymuthu (2010-03-29). "Iraq's Majnoon oilfield to hit 175,000 boed in 2012". Reuters. Retrieved 2010-05-21.

31°3′58″N 47°36′39″E / 31.06611°N 47.61083°E / 31.06611; 47.61083

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