US services firm Schlumberger this week signed two contracts with Iraq’s Basra Oil Company (BOC). The first will see the firm drill 40 wells at the 240,000 b/d Majnoon oil field and the second is to conduct 2D and 3D seismic on the field. Work will take place over 19 months.
Shell exited Majnoon in June citing poor contract conditions. Since then Baghdad has turned operatorship over to BOC who has brought on services firms including KBR and China’s Anton to manage the field (MEES, 22 June). Petrofac was awarded a $370mn EPC contract in August to build a 200,000 b/d production facility over the next 34 months (MEES, 17 August). Schlumberger also signed on in October to drill 30 wells at Exxon’s 450,000 b/d West Qurna-1 field, also in Basra (MEES, 26 October). Such recent deals have seen Iraqi drilling activity rise to a four-year high, with Baker Hughes reporting 61 active rigs in November. (CONTINUED - 151 WORDS)