Latest news with #SouthernIraq
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
ExxonMobil negotiating return to Iraq's oilfields
ExxonMobil is reportedly in negotiations with Iraq to make a comeback to the nation's oilfields, according to a report by ZAWYA, citing state officials. This development comes just a year after the company withdrew from one of Iraq's largest producing fields. In 2024, ExxonMobil ceased operations at the West Qurna 1 oilfield in southern Iraq, transferring its responsibilities to PetroChina, which now holds the primary stake. This field is among the world's most significant oil reservoirs, with more than 20 billion barrels (bbbl) of proven crude deposits and a production rate of nearly 550,000 barrels per day (bpd). The company's decision to exit the West Qurna 1 oilfield followed its earlier departure from the Pirman gas block in Kurdistan, north Iraq. Oil Ministry Undersecretary Bassim Khudair was quoted as saying: 'ExxonMobil has conveyed its willingness to return to Iraq.' He further elaborated that the company is exploring new opportunities within Iraq's oilfields, indicating a growing interest from the US and other international companies in the Iraqi oil industry. Concurrently, discussions are ongoing with Chevron for development contracts in the Southern Nasiriyah oilfield and the Balad field in the North-Central Saladin governorate. Iraq is actively seeking foreign investment in its oil sector as the country aims to increase its crude output capacity by 50% to more than six million barrels per day by 2028. With approximately 145bbbl of oil reserves, the country is aiming to increase its reserves to more than 160bbbl through various development projects. In the past two years, Iraq has awarded nearly 30 contracts to companies such as TotalEnergies, BP and various Chinese operators in its fifth and sixth oil licensing rounds, with plans for another round this year. Recently, US-based HKN was awarded a contract to develop the Hamrin oilfield in the Northern Saladin governorate, with the goal of more than doubling its production. This field had been severely impacted by ISIS during conflict a decade ago. In related news, the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic has entered into new agreements with ExxonMobil and BP for oil and gas exploration, aiming to maintain Azerbaijan's oil output at around 582,000bpd for the next five years with the support of Western energy investments. "ExxonMobil negotiating return to Iraq's oilfields" was originally created and published by Offshore Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
Zawya
30-06-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Iraq to build 5,000 houses in Basra
Iraq has approved a project to build 5,000 houses in the Southern port of Basra as part of plans to tackle housing shortages, the province's governor has said. Asaad Al-idani told Shafaq news agency on Wednesday that the project has been awarded to a developer and that it targets citizens at affordable prices. The project has an area of nearly three square kilometres (sq. km.) and it has been endorsed by the National Investment Commission (NIC). 'This project includes the construction of nearly 5,000 houses for citizens in phase one,' Idani said without naming the developer or mentioning project costs. (Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon) (
The Independent
02-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Archaeologists solve mystery of Iraq's huge network of ridges and canals
Archealistgists may have finally figured out the origin of a vast network of ridges and canals in Southern Iraq. New evidence suggests that the lines, long thought to be the remains of a large-scale agricultural system, may indeed have been constructed using slave labour. An international team of archaeologists has uncovered findings that support this theory. By dating the construction of some of the massive earthen structures, the team discovered that their creation spanned several centuries, beginning around the time of a notable slave rebellion in the 9th century A.D. The research, which sheds new light on the history and social structures of the region, was published in the journal Antiquity. The enslaved people from that era are known today as the 'Zanj,' a medieval Arabic term for the East African Swahili coast, although there are different theories about where in Africa most of them actually came from. They carried out a large-scale revolt in Iraq in 869 AD under the Abbasid state, known today as the 'Zanj rebellion.' The rebellion lasted for more than a decade until the Abbasid state regained control of the region in 883 A.D. Many descendants of those enslaved people now live in the southern port city of Basra in modern-day Iraq. While they are part of the fabric of modern-day Iraq, 'their history has not been actually written or documented very well in our history,' said Jaafar Jotheri, a professor of archaeology at the University of Al-Qadisiyah in Iraq, who was part of the research team. Researchers from Durham and Newcastle universities in the U.K., Radboud University in the Netherlands, and the University of Basra in Iraq also took part. 'So that's why this (finding) is very important, and what is next actually is to protect at least some of these huge structures for future work. It is minority heritage,' he said. The researchers first reviewed recent satellite imagery and older images from the 1960s showing the remains of more than 7,000 massive manmade ridges across the Shaṭṭ al-Arab floodplain. The size and scale of the network indicate the 'investment of human labour on a grand scale,' the report in Antiquity said. Sites were selected across the system to be analyzed with radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence dating. All four of the ridge crests sampled date to the period between the late ninth to mid-13th century A.D., situating their construction during the period when slave labor was in use in the area — and providing evidence that the use of slave labor likely continued for several centuries after the famous rebellion. Their findings demonstrate 'that these features were in use for a substantially longer period than previously assumed and, as such, they represent an important piece of Iraqi landscape heritage,' the researchers wrote. The finding comes at the time of a resurgence of archaeology in Iraq, a country often referred to as the 'cradle of civilization,' but where archaeological exploration has been stunted by decades of conflict that halted excavations and led to the looting of tens of thousands of artifacts. In recent years, the digs have returned and thousands of stolen artifacts have been repatriated.
