Minister of Oil, Hayan Abdul Ghani, has overseen the signing of
The agreement was signed between
Iraq’s state-owned Oil Exploration Company and Al-Qarnain Petroleum, a subsidiary of China’s ZhenHua Oil, have signed a contract for a two-dimensional seismic survey of the Al-Qarnain (Al-Quraynan) exploration block.
Minister of Oil, Hayan Abdul Ghani, described the block as a promising oil and gas prospect on Iraq’s border with Saudi Arabia. According to a press release from the Ministry, ZhenHua secured the rights to develop it under Iraq’s fifth supplementary licensing round and will drill four exploration wells; Iraq Business News understands that the rights were granted in the sixth licensing round.
The block falls under the remit of the Midland Oil Company, which has been tasked with following up on the contract’s implementation.
Deputy Minister for Extraction Affairs, Bassem Mohammed Khudair, said the deal reflects the Ministry’s strategy of supporting national companies, particularly the Oil Exploration Company, in conducting two- and three-dimensional surveys and preparing field studies.
Oil Exploration Company Director General, Osama Raouf, said the survey will cover 2,850 km and is expected to take 223 days. The Al-Qarnain block lies within Najaf Governorate, near the border with Saudi Arabia, and is considered prospective for both oil and gas.
(Source: Ministry of Oil)
