On 9 December, Iraq’s cabinet authorized the oil ministry to expand the scope of its HoA with Chevron to include the 90,000 b/d-capacity Nasiriya oilfield in Dhi Qar province. The late-August HoA had included four exploration blocks in Dhi Qar and the undeveloped Balad oilfield in Saladin province (MEES, 22 August). But these offerings were not attractive enough for the US major, and subsequent discussions with the ministry largely focused instead on the underdeveloped Nasiriya.
Whether Nasiriya itself is of sufficient scale to attract Chevron is also unclear, and the US major is keenly interested in purchasing Lukoil’s assets in Iraq. This puts it in direct competition with ExxonMobil for the Russian firm’s 480,000 b/d-capacity West Qurna-2 (WQ-2) field (MEES, 5 December). (CONTINUED - 160 WORDS)