KONTAN.CO.ID - IRAQ. The American energy giant ExxonMobil Corp has officially exited the West Qurna 1 oil field in Southern Iraq and handed over its operations to PetroChina as the main contractor

Citing Reuters, Monday (1/1), the Iraqi deputy oil minister told Reuters that senior Iraqi oil officials met with executives from ExxonMobil, PetroChina, Basra Oil Co this Monday at the West Qurna 1 field near Basra to mark Exxon's full exit and the handover of operations to PetroChina.

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“We met today to say goodbye to ExxonMobil, and at the same time we congratulate PetroChina for becoming the main contractor,” said Basim Mohammed, deputy oil minister for upstream affairs, to Reuters in an interview on the field.

After Exxon's departure, PetroChina holds the largest stake in this field.

Last year, Iraq signed a sales agreement to acquire 22.7% of ExxonMobil's shares in West Qurna 1 by Basra Oil Co.(BOC) managed by the Iraqi government, while Indonesia's Pertamina bought the remaining 10% of Exxon's shares, thus increasing its ownership to 20%.

The recent final settlement reached between the Iraqi oil ministry and Exxon has benefited both parties, said Mohammed.

West Qurna 1 is currently producing about 550,000 barrels per day (bpd), he added.

This is one of the largest oil fields in the world with recoverable reserves estimated at more than 20 billion barrels.

Iraq and PetroChina plan to increase production to 600,000 barrels per day by the end of 2024, said the chairman of the Board of Commissioners.

After exiting West Qurna 1, Exxon will no longer be present in the Iraqi energy sector, said the Board of Commissioners official.

The Deputy Oil Minister said the government wants to invite ExxonMobil to play a role in the development of future energy projects.