IRAQ - Oil & Gas Fields, Cont'd.

Maintenance of current production and expansion to more than 6.35m b/d will require a few thousand wells to be drilled over 10 years. New surface facilities have to be added in 21 fields and the expansion of existing facilities is needed in 11 other fields over a period of five to ten years. Below is an estimated work volume for the full development of a giant field:

          Production rate 1,000 b/d           >400
          Number of wells                      200
          Gathering centres                      6
          Vessels                               70
          Pumps                                 50
          Compressors                           13
          Tanks                                 14
          Lines, Kms                           850

Of Iraq's 73 oil and gas fields, six are "super-giants" with each containing over 6 bn barrels of recoverable oil. Another three are "bigger giants", each with up to 6 bn barrels. There are 20 "giants", with each having less than 5 bn barrels. There are hundreds of oil and gas bearing structures - with more than 155 structures in the western desert, an area yet to be properly explored. By August 1990 nearly all drilling had taken place east of Tigris River.

The most important fields offered by the government have been reserved for, or awarded to, companies from France, Russia and China - three of the UN Security Council's five permanent members. Mobil and Exxon, once members of the IPC consortium which until May 1972 was the sole concessionaire in Iraq, want to return to this country together with other US majors. But they are barred from Iraq by the US administration., the latter using the oil weapon in a way that has caused US majors great loss in Libya as well as in Iran and Iraq. European oil companies have moved to these countries, while the main GCC producers - Saudi Arabia and Kuwait - refuse to grant US majors oil PSAs. This means there is a new Red Line against the US majors in the biggest part of the Middle East.

By mid-March 1999, only about $15m worth of spare parts had arrived in Iraq since it began exporting oil in December 1996. These consisted mainly of chemicals and pipes, with the US and UK accused of having blocked most contracts. But $270m of spare parts were on their way in late April. Under the UN deal, Iraq was to receive $600m worth of equipment and spare parts and of these $300m were approved in October 1998.