Iraqi firm to drill 76 oil wells in 2011

Iraq to boost oil output more than 200 thousand barrels per day as Iraqi Drilling Company plans to drill 76 wells in 2011

State-run Iraqi Drilling Company plans to drill 76 wells in 2011 as part of a national effort to boost oil output to more than 200 thousand barrels per day, the head of the firm said on Friday.
Director Idrees al-Yassiri said the plan included drilling more than 15 wells for Nassiriya oilfield, which would help boost output from the field by 50 thousand - 60 thousnad bpd.
"Our plan for 2011 is ambitious. We have enough energy to accomplish it ... The increase in production through the national effort will be more than 200 thousand bpd through 2011," he said in a news conference.
The national effort includes drilling new wells in oilfields Iraq is developing on its own, including some of its giant fields like Nassiriya and East Baghdad.
The state-run firm will drill six wells in East Baghdad, as well as around 24 wells in other smaller fields being developed by Iraq.
Iraq has signed a series of deals with international oil firms to develop its vast oil reserves in a bid to boost output potential to 12 million bpd from around 2.7 million bpd now.
Yassiri said Iraqi Drilling Company would also drill wells for oilfields being developed by global oil companies.
"We will drill 23 wells for ENI in Zubair oilfield and 20 wells for ExxonMobil in West Qurna (Phase One)," he said, adding the company will drill 15 wells as part of a consortium in Majnoon oilfield, which is being developed by Royal Dutch Shell.
"Drilling operations for foreign companies will add closer to 150 thousand barrels per day in 2011," Yassiri said.
The company has also submitted a bid for a tender to drill 23 wells in West Qurna (Phase Two), which is being developed by Russia's LUKOIL, Yassiri said, adding the development plan for the field included drilling 75 wells in the next two years.