Iraq said on Monday it has drilled the 15th well in Nasiriyah oilfield in the Southern Dhi Qar Governorate within plans to increase its production capacity.

The Oil Ministry in OPEC’s second largest oil producer said it targets the drilling of 20 wells in the oilfield with the help of the US-based Weatherford Oilfield Services Company, which was awarded a contract a few years ago.

The new oil well, drilled at a depth of 2,096 metres, is the 15th in the plan to spud 20 wells in the field to boost its output capacity, the Ministry said in a statement published by the Iraqi News Agency.

The Ministry, which has signed a development contract for the field with the Dhi Qar Oil Company, did not mention the targeted capacity of the field that was discovered in 1973. But Iraqi officials said in 2022 output would be increased to over 90,000 barrels per day (bpd) shortly and to 200,000 bpd eventually.

(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@lseg.com)

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