Wednesday, May 25, 2011Gazprom expects Badra oil field exports to start in the middle of 2013
Russian Gazprom working on developing Badra oil field in Wasset Province said on Tuesday that it expects to start exporting oil from the field by the middle of 2013. Meanwhile, a local official in the company called to hurry in extracting oil in order to provide more income for the province.
“Gazprom consortium which won in 2010 a contract to develop Badr oil field 80 km east of Wasset plans to start extracting oil and pumping it to international markets by the middle of 2013 with a capacity of 15000 barrels per day”, Gazprom Coalition General Director Alexander Kolmatski told Alsumarianews. “The quantities will be gradually increased to reach 170000 barrels per day all along 7 years”, he added.
“The e most important challenge facing the companies who won the contract to develop badra oil field are the landmines spread on 165 square kilometers” Kolmatski uttered. “However, a part of this problem was solved by using the help of an Iraqi company which works on removing mines from the site”, he added.
Barda oil field is situated on Iraq-Iran borders and a part of it is in landmine field. The field reserves are estimated to be 3 billion cubic meter of oil ad half a billion cubic meter of gaz. Gazprom Russian company owns 40% of the project while the other parts are divided as follows: 10% for TPO Turkish Company, 30% for South Korea's KOGAS and 20% for Malaysian PETRONAS.
In the framework of the project, Gazprom had earlier given two contracts, the first for Al Khalij Al Arabi Company, an Iraqi demining company in order to demine the field by November 2011. The second contract was given Oil Drilling Company, which is an Iraqi public company in order to carry out a seismic scan for the same field.
The 4 companies’ consortium aims at starting works in oil wells by next year.
Gazprom official said that after finishing the landmines issue his company will start making roads and paving them to link between the oil wells that are to be drilled which also include a reserve to store the oil extracted in addition to a small refinery. The company will also expand pipelines inside the field towards Al Gharraf field in Al Nassiriah and from it towards southern ports which will be built by PETRONAS Malaysian Company the partner in developing Badra oil field. The second pipeline is for gas which will be pumped towards gas production factories in Baghdad.
“The consortium will dig 17 oil wells in the field including Badra I which is the first well in the field and it was discovered in 1977 and needs to be maintained and rehabilitated. The following stages in the field include setting a power station for the local use and a part of the energy produced will be sent to Badra city as a contribution by the consortium companies in offering secondary services for the locals living in the field surroundings”, Kolmatski said.
Wasset Province Council Governor Assistant for technical affairs Sabih Lafta Farhan said that the local government undertook providing secure environment for foreign workers in the field and to provide all the other facilities in order to fasten the pace of oil extracting in a way that guarantees providing the province with good financial income n the framework of petrodollar project.
Farhan called the consortium to hasten the pace of work as much as possible since it would help providing the province with income.
Iraqi regional governments hope to get financial amounts from operations taking place in oil fields after issuing petrodollar project according to which Iraq parliament approved in 26/1/2010 transferring 1 dollar for each barrel of oil produced by the province’s refineries and for each 150 cubic meters of natural gas, to be added to the budget of the province. This number was later on adjusted and became 2 dollars for producing provinces and 1 dollar for provinces that do not produce oil.
http://www.alsumaria.tv/en/Economics-News-Iraq/3-64549-Gazprom-expects-Badra-oil-field-exports-to-start-in-the-middle-of-2013.html
