Gazprom Neft has commenced the drilling of a second appraisal well in the Iraqi Badra oil deposit. The depth of the appraisal well will reach 4,900m and drilling is expected to be completed in spring 2012.
The drilling of the first appraisal well started in November 2011. In the near future Gazprom Neft will use a drilling rig to recommission and test the earlier Bd.1 exploratory well for a scheduled total of three appraisal wells.
Eleven operating wells are slated to be eventually drilled at Badra, including the conversion of appraisal wells and an exploratory well.
Oilfield services giant Schlumberger won the contract from Gazprom for the drilling of appraisal, exploration and operational wells. The company has three rigs at the deposit working under a three-year contract.
Upon completion of drilling and testing of appraisal wells and the results of 3D seismic field surveys carried out in 2011, the final development plan for the Badra oil deposit is set to be approved in February 2013 when production is slated to begin.
The Badra oil field is located in Wassit Province in Eastern Iraq with an estimated 3 billion barrels of oil in place. The contract to develop the Badra oil field was signed with the Iraqi Government in January 2010 following submission of a tender in December 2009. An international consortium comprising Gazprom Neft, Kogas (Korea), Petronas (Malaysia) and ТРАО (Turkey) became the preferred bidder in this tender.
Gazprom Neft’s share, as lead operator on this project, is 30 per cent, Kogas’ share is 22.5 per cent, Petronas’ share is 15 per cent and ТРАО’s share is 7.5 per cent. The Iraqi Government, represented by the Iraqi Oil Exploration Company (OEC) retains 25 per cent.
The Badra oil field development project is scheduled to last 20 years, with a possible extension of 5 years. Peak oil production is expected to reach around 170,000 barrels per day by 2017 and remain at peak for seven years. The estimated amount of investment is around $2 billion. Under the terms of the contract, investors will be reimbursed for their costs and paid $5.5 per barrel of oil equivalent produced.
