South Oil Company is the holder of the contract on behalf of Iraqi authorities. The document was submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Iraq for approval.
The committed exploration program covers 5 years with an option to extend it by 2 more years and includes 2D seismic acquisition of 1, 375 line kilometers and drilling of one exploration well. A two-year appraisal program will also be implemented. If commercial reserves are confirmed, oil production period will last 20 years and can be extended by 5 more years. A remuneration fee of $5.99 per barrel will be paid for the produced oil. These payments will start as soon as the production level reaches 25% of the target plateau rate which will be determined upon completion of the exploration and appraisal activities.
Andrey Kuzyaev, President of LUKOIL Overseas, notes that the distance between Block 10 and West Qurna-2 megaproject operated by LUKOIL Overseas is only 100 kilometers. "The two projects will obviously benefit from the synergy in terms of infrastructure, equipment and manpower mobilization," said Andrey Kuzyaev.