Lukoil discusses development of West al-Qarna-2 oilfield

BASRA / IraqiNews.com: A delegation comprised of representatives of Russia’s Lukoil has discussed with Basra‘s governor the launch of work on the development of West al-Qarna-2 oilfield. “The talks with the delegation from the Russian Lukoil, which, along with Norway’s Statoil, won a contract to develop West al-Qarna-2 oilfield, have tackled their future projects, mechanisms and joint cooperation…,” Governor Shaltagh Abboud al-Mayyah told IraqiNews.com news agency. The delegates have vowed to employ 2,000 personnel, in addition to thousands of infrastructure workers in their projects in an attempt to help reduce unemployment in the province. The companies had pledged to increase production to a peak of 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) at a rate of $1.15 for each additional barrel of oil produced. Qarna-2 has a huge reserve estimated to reach 13 billion barrels. The field lies in southern Iraq, west of the Majnoon oilfield, whose reserves are equal to Qarna-2. The Shiite city of Basra lies 590 km south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. SS (P)/SR 1