Lukoil has announced that it started drilling operations in the West Qurna-2 oil field near Basra.
Lukoil, President Vagit Alekperov was quoted by RIA Novosti as stating, “We have launched drilling, well borers are already there."
West-Qurna-2 is a green field that has yet to produce any oil and is is about 40 miles northwest of Basra.
Lukoil and Statoil were awarded a 20-year service contract for West-Qurna 2 in Iraq's second licensing round held in December 2009.
Full-scale production is slated by the end of 2012. The field should reach a peak production rate of 1.8mn bpd by 2017 and sustain that level for more than a decade.
