By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Jan. 25 -- ExxonMobil Iraq Ltd. signed an agreement with the Iraq Ministry of Oil to redevelop and expand West Qurna 1 field in southern Iraq.
The agreement was signed in Baghdad in the presence of the Iraq Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani and Rob Franklin, president of ExxonMobil upstream ventures. The consortium members are ExxonMobil as the lead contractor with 60% interest, Oil Exploration Co. (owned by the Iraq government) with 25% interest, and Royal Dutch Shell PLC with 15% interest.
Franklin said ExxonMobil would continue discussions with the Iraqi government on other opportunities to help develop the country’s resources.
As part of the agreement, ExxonMobil will focus on recruitment and development of local employees, development of qualified local vendors for the supply of goods and services, and on supporting corporate citizenship initiatives in health, education, and infrastructure.
Two competing consortia—one led by ExxonMobil and the other by OAO Lukoil—submitted bids that met Iraq's conditions for the 8.6 billion bbl West Qurna 1 field, including Iraq’s price of $1.90/bbl per additional barrel. ExxonMobil proposed an additional 2.1 million b/d, while Lukoil offered 1.5 million b/d for the field, which now produces 279,000 b/d (OGJ Online, Oct. 19, 2009).
