Iraqi Drilling Company (IDC), a subsidiary of state firm INOC, has won a contract to drill 37 new wells at the Zubair field in the country’s Basra oil heartland, the oil ministry says. IDC Director General Basim Abdulkareem previously told official Iraqi daily Al-Sabah that his firm expected imminent award at the 500,000 b/d field (MEES, 27 August).

What he didn’t say at the time is that the award is not directly from operator-Eni, but through the main contractor Schlumberger. IDC has been leveraging its on the ground presence in Iraq as well as its expansive fleet of 43 drilling and workover rigs with varying capacities to secure ministry of oil contracts on its own, or by sub-contracting for foreign oilfield service providers. (CONTINUED - 199 WORDS)