Shatha Khalil
The Iraqi oil ministry is witnessing day after day tangible and clear progress in its performance since the independent oil expert Jabbar al-Luaibi has become its minister, which reflected positively on the Iraqi economy. It is worth noting that Iraq started drilling the first well in the Huwaiza oil field near the Iranian border, which may contain one billion barrels in reserves.
The ministry is working with scientific studied steps to cope with difficult economic and financial challenges faced by the country, and the advancement of the real development of the economy, and planning to increase fiscal revenue for national companies, and Laibi confirms that the ministry will not accept losing companies(the losers) at the end of this year, and will exert its utmost effort to overcome the obstacles they face, noting that in the year 2018 will see success in all companies of oil ministry.
In this ninth day of the month of July 2017 the minister Jabar al- Luaibi achieved a new milestone in the launch of drilling the first well in the «Howaiza» field, by the Iraqi hands and direct follow – up by him near the Iranian border, which may contain estimated at more than one billion barrels of oil reserves.
Despite the preoccupation of Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al – Abadi, in the battle to liberate Mosul from the grip of the organization Daesh, but he did not lose sight of the follow – up the projects of the Ministry of Oil and the forefront of it is the project of drilling of the first oil well near the Iranian border, the fact that oil is the lifeblood of the Iraqi economy.
Iraqi Oil Minister Jabbar al-Luaibi on the sidelines of the ceremony of the inauguration of the well in the Meyssan province , “said the ministry develops now field through national effort represented by Missan Oil Company and Iraqi Drilling and oil explorations company , ” noting that ” the effort culminated in drilling the first well in the field,” and that : ” The next stage will witness further projects for the development of border fields with Iran , discovered and undeveloped wells.”
The al-Luaibi had instructed officials and workers to speed up production processes and drilling more wells within the field development program, praising their sincere efforts and keenness to expedite the development and production.
The deputy minister for extraction Karim Hattab stressed that: “surveys and geological studies and preliminary expectations indicate that the size of the oil reserves of the Howaiza field of more than one billion barrels; therefore , is one of the important fields , ” he said, adding that the field achieves the goal of optima investment for it.
The field is being developed by state-run Maysan Oil Company which oversees the oil and natural gas industry in the namesake region, the ministry said in a statement.
Oil minister Jabar al-Luaibi attended the well drilling launch at Huwaiza and also a ceremony marking the beginning of expansion work in the Halfaya oil field, also in Maysan , according to separate oil ministry statements on Sunday.
The expansion will double Halfaya’s capacity in 2018 to 400,000 barrels per day. The field is operated by PetroChina.
Iraq’s second – largest producer in the «OPEC» after Saudi Arabia, and seeks to boost its production capacity to 5 million barrels per day by the end of the year, from about 4.7 million bpd now and the country currently produces 4.3 million barrels per day (lower than its capacity), in line with an agreement between oil exporting countries to curb supply in order to support crude prices.
The minister also opened on 07.07.2017 a new project at al-Durah refinery, which will contribute to provide an improved fuel, adding that this project is a gift to the Iraqi people and the Iraqi government, which its inauguration coincides with victories achieved by the Iraqi brave army, popular crowd, and the Peshmerga forces and tribal l forces allied with them in the liberation of Iraq from the terrorist organization Daesh.
Al-Luaibi said the ministry will build successful projects in all Iraqi cities, because the economy is the basic element in the construction of the country.
And pointed out: “The al-Dura refinery project will provide improved gasoline significantly; thus reducing its imports from abroad, and contributes to enhance the Iraqi economy and solve a big problems facing the Iraqi Oil Ministry.”
These projects confirm the determination of Laibi and his insistence not to accept the existence of the losing national oil companies (the losers) at the end of the year 2017, as instructed national oil companies to exert utmost efforts to raise the level of performance and increase financial revenue in support of the national economy.
Also the vision of the minister affirms the need to address the economic and financial challenges, where the ministry urged companies suffering a decline in financial revenues including “oil tanker company, Engineering Equipment company , Iraqi Drilling company , the company ‘s oil projects, the company distribution of petroleum products, gas filling company , and company of ” oil ” marketing , to work to address this in a maximum period of the end of the year 2017 .
and with regard to the minister ‘s vision to develop the work of companies and projects , he stressed that the boards of companies that possess the necessary powers according to law No. 22 should take practical steps and intensify their efforts in communication and dialogue with its Arab, regional and international counterparts to access to successful solutions and correct options towards signing contracts and agreements of partnership with these companies in accordance with the laws and regulations in force, to ensure the upgrading of performance and staff development level as well as an increase in financial revenue . ”
The minister pointed out that “the leadership of the oil sector will support all steps and good efforts that serve in this direction and backed up.”
The Minister of Oil said : “The joint investments between national companies and international counterparts will contribute to the advancement of the level of performance of national companies and upgrade them to the ranks of discreet international companies, and strengthen its position on the map of the implementation of large projects and the achievement of planned objectives.”
al- Luaibi added : “The ministry took practical steps in this direction through a partnership agreement between the Iraqi Oil Tanker Company and Arab Company for the transfer of oil, and the signing of a contract between the oil marketing company” SOMO “and one of the Russian company for joint marketing of Iraqi oil and the development of the performance of employees.
Economic Unity
Rawabet Center for Research and Strategic Studies