Thursday, March 28, 2024

Baghdad

Iraq signs contract to develop al-Zubair oilfield with Italy’s Eni

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Iraqi Oil Ministry signed on Friday the final contract to develop the giant al-Zubair oilfield in Basra with a consortium led by Italian energy giant Eni SpA. Eni and its partners won the right to develop the 4 billion barrel oil field last year following the country’s first postwar licensing auction held in June. Under the terms of the deal, Eni, Italy’s biggest energy company by market value, and its partners will be paid $2 for each extra barrel of oil they extract on top of current production at the field, but will be liable for a 35% tax on profits. Eni has said the development of the field would require investment of about $10 billion in the first six years to raise output to 1.125 million barrels a day from 195,000 barrels a day at present. According to the 20-year long service contract, the consortium would pay the ministry $300 million as a refundable five-year loan instead of paying a signature bonus as the case in the deals listed in the second bid round held December last year. SH (P) 2

Leave a Reply