Iraq announced on 6 May that Zhenhua Oil has made a discovery of 8.8bn barrels of oil in place at the Qurnain exploration block in Najaf province. The block abuts the Saudi border and was won during Iraq’s bid rounds in 2024 (MEES, 17 May 2024). The discovery is substantial, but its remoteness will complicate any future development.
The oil ministry says that the ‘Shams-1’ wildcat spud in January found oil at the Lower Jurassic Mus formation at 1916-1965ms depth on 24 February. The well produced 3,248 b/d of light oil. The Mus formation is a shallow marine carbonate reservoir and bears resemblance with the Marrat formation in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. (CONTINUED - 159 WORDS)