Oil ministry denies Iran’s partnership in Majnoon field

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The Iraqi oil ministry discredited recent mass media reports about Iran’s partnership in the Majnoon oilfield on the joint borders between the two countries, according to a release by the National Information Center on Thursday. “There is no partnership with Iran in the Majnoon oilfield in Basra province,” read the release as received by IraqiNews.com news agency, pointing out that the meant border oilfield is Abu Gharb as announced by the ministry in the second round of licenses. Arguments took place in February 2008 between Iraqi oil technicians and Iranian border guards after the Iranians prevented the Iraqis from resuming works to rehabilitate the Abu Gharb oilfield in Missan province, on the Iraqi-Iranian borders. The Iranian side then justified the measures by saying that border demarcation landmarks disappeared due to the torrential rains that hit the area, calling for clear landmarks to indicate borders. Abu Gharb, which produces 5,000 barrels per day (bpd), was developed and invested in 2007 by Iraqi technicians. Iraqi lawmaker Mohammed al-Dayni on Sunday (Jan. 18) threatened to question Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahrestani over statements attributed to him about Iran’s partnership with Iraq on the Majnoon oilfield. Majnoon, an Arabic word that means “crazy”, is one of the world’s richest oilfields, boasting a confirmed oil reserve of 23-25 billion barrels. It was named so due to its crazy abundance in crude oil under a small area in east Euphrates off the city of al-Qarna. Works had started in the mid-1970s to invest it but came to a halt with the outbreak of the Iraqi-Iranian war in 1980 due to its nearness to military theaters. Iraqi oil authorities then had to bury the wells in that field out of concerns they might catch fire and consequently waste this wealth. During the past few years, work had begun on the field, 70 km northeast of Basra, once again and production went up to 60,000 bpd. The oil-rich port city of Basra lies 590 km south of Baghdad. AmR (S) 1