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Eni has announced has been awarded the licence for the development of the Zubair oilfield in Iraq, following a successful first round bid.
The Italian supermajor is leading a consortium consisting of Occidental Petroelum Corp from the US and the Korean Gaz Corporation. Eni’s share is around 40% although the company said that there may be minor adjustments to that figure in the near future.
“The award of the explorative licence for the Zubair field strengthens the long-term collaboration between Eni and Iraq, which dates back to the 1970’s, and will allow Eni to further grow its production and reserves,” a statement released by the company said.
“The service contract will last 20 years and can be extended to 25. It also includes the participation of Iraqi State Company, Southern Oil, with a 25% share,” it added.
The Zubair field, one of the largest Iraqi oil fields, and has a current production rate of 195,000 barrels of oil per day. In the next seven years, under the field’s expansion programme, production is expected to reach a plateau level of 1.125 million barrels of oil per day.
The project includes the drilling of over 200 wells, the construction of treatment facilities and the required collection network, as well as the refurbishment of the existing plants.