SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Iraqi oil minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar said on Wednesday the Council of Ministers has given its approval for the the country’s National Oil Company to acquire Exxon Mobil Corp’s stake in the giant West Qurna 1 oilfield.
West Qurna 1 located in southern Iraq is one of the world’s largest oilfields with recoverable reserves estimated at more than 20 billion barrels, according to Reuters.
It had a production capacity close to 500,000 barrels per day in 2021, Iraqi officials reported.
State-run Basra Oil Company director Khalid Hamza told Reuters last year that Exxon was seeking to sell its 32.7% stake in the field for $350 million.
Foreign interest in developing fields in southern Iraq has fallen as Iraq along with other top producers curbs output to support prices and as a result of tension between the United States and Iran, which has close ties to Iraqi Shia militias.
