Iraq's oil ministry announced the discovery of a large oil field in the southern province of Najaf near the Saudi Arabian border.
The discovery is considered one of the most important discoveries in the Iraqi energy sector in recent years; because initial estimates show that one of the exploration sites contains crude oil reserves exceeding 8.8 billion barrels.
The Kurneyn bloc is located on the Iraqi-Saudi border, about 180 kilometers from Baghdad ’a, in the province of Najaf, southwest of ’. With an area of 8,773 square kilometers, it is one of the most promising areas in terms of oil exploration. The contract for oil development, exploration and production was signed at ’te on October 17, 2024.
According to the data announced by the Ministry, the presence of light crude oil was seen in the drilling works carried out in the Shams-11 exploration well, which has an initial production capacity of 3,248 barrels per day.
The announcement was made during an official meeting between Iraqi Oil Minister Hayan Abdul Ghani and Chinese ZhenHua Oil’in representatives, where they reviewed progress at the Kurnain site and discussed advanced drilling techniques to improve the efficiency of exploration and production operations and accelerate development.
ZhenHua, through its subsidiary Kurnain Petroleum Limited, is the main operator of exploration drilling and seismic research operations in partnership with the Iraqi side.
’'s claim on the Iraqi desert
The oil ministry said the Chinese company offered a quick investment plan aimed at accelerating the development of the site and putting it into commercial production as soon as possible.
Baghdad is working to accelerate a strategic project to build a pipeline to connect the southern province of Basra with the city of Hadisa in Anbar province, close to the Syrian border, with a planned export capacity of 2.5 million barrels per day.
Meanwhile, Iraq faces pressure on oil exports due to the war in the Middle East’ and the disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital corridor for Iraq’ to deliver energy to global markets.
Prior to the escalation of regional tensions, Iraq produced about 4.5 million barrels of oil per day, becoming the third largest producer of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), exporting about 3.5 million barrels per day, of which about 90 percent crossed the Strait of Hormuz.
Iraq’'s oil exports decreased by 18.6 million barrels in March to $1.96 billion (euro 1.77 billion), according to official data released by the Ministry of Petroleum; This is a nearly 71% drop in revenue compared to February, when Iraq’ exported more than 99 million barrels of oil and earned $6.81 billion (6.15 billion euros).
