Oil issues a clarification regarding Eridu field

According to a ministry statement, received by the Iraqi News Agency (INA), that " a reference to what was published and circulated by some Media and news sites about the "Eridu" field, and due to the inaccuracy of some information reported by these agencies and news sites, the Ministry of Oil clarifies that this field was discovered in 2016." 

The statement added, "The field is located within the tenth exploration block located between the governorates of Muthanna and Dhi Qar, and it is not a new discovery, as the tenth exploration block was assigned within the fourth licensing round to a coalition of the Russian Lukoil companies by 60% and Japan's Inpex by 40%." 

He pointed out that "the contract was signed in 2012 and that the area of the tenth patch is 5806 square kilometers, and that the contract included drilling 9 wells, 3 exploratory and 6 appraisal during the exploratory period." 

He also indicated, "As a result of the activities carried out by the international companies concerned, the "Eridu" field was discovered within the tenth block, based on the results of two-dimensional seismic surveys in 2016." 

The statement continued by saying: "Initial expectations, as a result of studies submitted by the company, indicate that the oil reserves range between 7 and 12 billion barrels," noting that "the proposed peak production is 250 thousand barrels per day." 

In addition to the, he added, "The operator (Lukoil) has submitted a commercial discovery announcement and a preliminary development proposal to the Ministry of Oil for the purpose of studying by the Iraqi side and approving it to proceed with the development of the field." 

 Furthermore, and according to the statement, the Ministry of Oil called on everyone to be accurate, objective and professional when circulating news related to the oil sector to serve the public interest.