Iraq and an international consortium led by Russias Gazprom Neft have awarded Petrofac a US$329.7mn deal to develop the untapped Badra oil field, according to government spokesman Ali Al Dabbagh .
The field is located in Wasit governorate, 160km southeast of Baghdad, and extends across eastern Iraq's border with Iran.
Central processing facility
Ali Al Dabbagh said Petrofac would build a central processing facility for oil production in the field but he provided no further details, reported Dow Jones.
Production by mid-2013
The consortium, which also includes Korea Gas Corp.(Kogas), Turkish Petroleum Corp. (TPAO) and Malaysia's Petronas is planning to start first production from the field by mid-2013, Gazprom Neft executives had said.
11 wells in three years
Gazprom Neft-operated consortium has started drilling last year in the field with estimated proven reserves of 3 billion barrels. It plans to drill some 11 wells in the fields in three years, the executives said.
US$2 billion Badra project
Gazprom, which holds the largest stake in the consortium at 40 per cent, would receive along with its partners a payment of US$5.50 for each barrel extracted from the field as soon as the field reaches output of 15,000 barrels a day by mid-2013.
The consortium estimates total costs for the Badra project at US$2 billion and plan to reach 170,000 barrels a day by 2017.
