SYRACUSE (Italy), April 23 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s largest privately held oil firm LUKoil plans to produce 150,000 barrels of oil per day from the Iraqi West Qurna-2 oilfield from 2014, LUKoil CEO Vagit Alekperov said on Tuesday.
“The program of developing the oilfield infrastructure is proceeding according to schedule and work is ongoing at all the sites. From January 1 [2014], we will be ready to produce 150,000 barrels per day,” Alekperov said.
Iraq’s West Qurna-2 oilfield was discovered in 1973 with the participation of Soviet geologists. The oilfield is the world’s second largest undeveloped deposit with recoverable oil reserves of 14 billion barrels.
The oilfield covers an area of 340 square kilometers (131 square miles) and is located in southern Iraq, 65 km (40 miles) northwest of the large port city of Basra. The contract to develop the West Qurna-2 deposit over a period of 20 years with a five-year extension option was signed on January 31, 2010. LUKoil holds 75 percent in the project while Iraq’s state-owned North Oil Company holds 25 percent.
