Iraq's oil ministry says state-run Basra Oil Company signed a contract with Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) and Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) to drill 96 wells in the West Qurna-1 oilfield, which could improve production capacity by 200K bbl/day over the next five years.
West Qurna-1 currently produces 380K bbl/day out of a production capacity exceeding 500K, as well as 150M cf/day of associated gas, a deputy oil minister says.
Operator Exxon reportedly is looking to sell its 32.7% stake in West Qurna-1, which has more than 20B barrels of recoverable reserves, partly to cut down its massive debt.