IDC’s Success Story

Iraq Drilling Co (IDC) is back in force and seems on the way to turn itself into a success story by teaming up with the big ones. After the short setback following the failed joint venture with Mesopotamia Petroleum, it has finally found the magic formula to play the leading role in the gigantic drilling effort that will take place across the Iraqi oil fields over the next few years.

In the first drilling tender launched earlier this year for drilling in Rumaila oil field, IDC bid jointly with Schlumberger, the world’s largest oilfield services provider and together they won a contract to drill 21 new wells and carry out workover jobs on 23 wells. IDC will supply three of its…

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Reversing A Trend

Basrah – On the face of it and just listening to Iraqi oil officials describing their new ventures in Rumaila, it would appear as if BP is revolutionizing the way oil is produced in Iraq’s biggest and oldest fields. In reality, much of the work underway aims at reversing the trend of continuous malpractice imposed by years of war and sanctions. This covers all aspects of the production process from the use of submersible pumps and the handling of the resulting water cut; to horizontal drilling; to the use of 3-D seismic and modern well-logging to improve oil recovery rates.

To start with, electric submersible pumps were only used in Upper Shale at depth of 3100 meters where reservoir pressure was…

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Race Against Time

Since the Rumaila service contract entered into effect on Dec.17, BP and the Rumaila operating division of SOC have not been wasting any time. They held the first joint management committee meeting on Jan.20, decided on a $1.7 billion budget for 2010, and launched the first tenders for drilling and supply contracts. The target is to add between 150,000-200,000 b/d by December 2010 and rehabilitate the gas oil separation facilities to handle 1.3 million b/d of capacity.

The 2010 work program involves the drilling of 52 wells and workovers on 30 others. The six companies invited to bid for the drilling contract are Halliburton, Weatherford, Schlumberger, Baker Hughes, Akkad and CNPC. The way tendering has been handled means that Chinese companies…

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Akkad . Baker Hughes . BP . CNPC . contract . drilling IDC . FOD . Halliburton . JMC . Rumaila . Schlumberger . SOC . Weatherford The View from Baghdad

Two Years On, Iraq Output Still Struggling

9 March 2005

Almost two years after the US-led war ousted the Baath regime, Iraq is still struggling to meet prewar production levels at its dilapidated oil fields.

Iraq’s southern oil fields, which accounted for the majority of prewar production of 2.8 million barrels per day, are currently managing just 1.85 million b/d — and even this rate is causing great distress to reservoirs, Iraq’s interim Oil Minister Thamer al-Ghadban said Tuesday.

Iraq’s oil ministry has been allocated a $3 billion budget in 2005 to restore former production and raise levels by developing producing fields. However, that budget is contingent on oil revenues, which have been cut by at least one-third over the past year due to sabotage. Iraqi export levels have fallen…

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budget . Ceyha . drilling . exports . Ghadban . Halliburton . interim . investments . KBR . oil . Parsons . production . reservoirs . Rumaila . Somo . Weatherford . wells . Worley . Zubair 2005