Iraq signs deal with EBS to develop 15 billion barrels of oil reserves
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – In support of the country's ambitions to boost oil output to six million barrels by 2029, the Iraqi government inked an agreement on Wednesday to develop oil reserves of more than 15 billion barrels.
The Iraqi Minister of Oil, Hayan Abdul-Ghani, confirmed the ministry's commitment to maximizing production through the development of oil fields, in line with the ministry's plans and the government's agenda.
Abdul-Ghani sponsored a ceremony to sign a deal with China's EBS to develop the southern part of the East Baghdad field, according to a statement cited by the Iraqi News Agency (INA).
The new agreement will develop an estimated oil reserve of over 15 billion barrels, following a series of recent discoveries that have increased the oil field's reserves by more than two billion barrels.
The Iraqi oil minister clarified that by extending the deal's coverage area, oil output from the East Baghdad field will rise by as much as 100,000 barrels per day.
The field, which is more than 120 kilometers long and five to seven kilometers wide, now produces between 45,000 and 50,000 barrels per day, according to Abdul-Ghani.
The agreement was reached around three months after Iraq's Midland Oil Company, working with EBS, declared that the field's oil reserves had increased by almost two billion barrels as a result of successful drilling operations that revealed substantial oil reserves that contained medium and light crudes.
When the development deal with the Chinese firm was signed in 2018, the East Baghdad field's proven reserves were estimated to be at 7.5 billion barrels. However, this amount has doubled to 15 billion barrels due to exploration and assessment activities.
In addition to the construction of four tanks with a capacity of 10,000 cubic meters and 3,000 cubic meters, the agreement with EBS includes drilling six horizontal wells to increase the field's production, according to Abdul-Ghani.
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