The Faihaa field has long been seen as Iraq’s next sizeable producer, with output having begun in late-2015. But while Faihaa’s potential was clear, former operator Kuwait Energy (KEC) was never able to capitalize on this, largely due to its own financial difficulties – Iraq’s political instability hasn’t helped either. Faihaa is located in Block 9 in southern Iraq, next to the Iranian border.
Eventually, Hong Kong-listed United Energy Group (UEG) bought Bahrain-listed KEC in 2018. As well as Block 9 (Kuwait Energy 60%op, Dubai’s Dragon Oil 30%, EGPC 10%), this brought UEG the nearby Siba gas field and around 15,000 b/d of net output in Egypt (MEES, 28 September 2018). The $650mn deal closed in March 2019. (CONTINUED - 874 WORDS)
