Q&A: Hatim Abdul-Imam Khudair, director for West Qurna 2
Hatim Abdul-Imam Khudair. (JASSIM AL-JABIRI/Iraq Oil Report)
BASRA - The West Qurna 2 oil field in Basra is again producing over 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) after being forced to cut production by more than one-quarter in 2020 due to Iraq's OPEC-plus commitments.
Operated by Russia’s Lukoil in partnership with the Iraqi state-owned North Oil Company (NOC), the field contains an estimated 14 billion barrels of crude oil reserves and is targeting a maximum capacity of 800,000 bpd.
Hatim Abdul-Imam Khudair, the director of West Qurna 2, spoke with Iraq Oil Report about the expansion plans.
The field consists of two main reservoirs, Mishrif and Yamama. The majority of Iraq’s production from southern oil fields, including West Qurna 2, is from the Mishrif formation, which contains a heavier crude stream.
With Iraq’s crude slate getting heavier and more sulfurous, Iraq wants to develop the deeper Yamama formations at its giant oil fields in the south to produce lighter, higher-value crude oil — and West Qurna 2 can be a major contributor.
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All sources quoted or referenced spoke to Iraq Oil Report directly and exclusively, unless stated otherwise. Iraq Oil Report typically grants anonymity to sources that can't speak without risking their personal safety or job security. We only publish information from anonymous sources that we independently corroborate and are important to core elements of the story. We do not provide anonymity to sources whose purpose is to further personal or political agendas.
Iraq Oil Report Commitment to Independence
Iraq Oil Report strives to provide thoroughly vetted reporting and fair-minded analysis that enables readers to understand the dynamic events of Iraq. To meet this goal, we always seek to gather first-hand information on the ground, verify facts from multiple angles, and solicit input from every stakeholder involved in a given story.
view our independence as an integral piece of our competitive advantage. Whereas many media entities in Iraq are owned or heavily influenced by political parties, Iraq Oil Report is wholly owned by several of its employees. In a landscape that is often polarized and politicized, we are able to gather and corroborate information from an unusually wide array of sources because we can speak with all of them in good faith.
fund this enterprise, Iraq Oil Report depends on revenue from both advertising and subscriptions. Some of our advertisers and subscribers ‐ including companies, governments, and NGOs ‐ are also subjects of our reporting. Consistent with journalistic best practices, Iraq Oil Report maintains a strict firewall that removes business considerations from editorial decision-making. When we are choosing which stories to report and how to write them, our readers always come first.
All sources quoted or referenced spoke to Iraq Oil Report directly and exclusively, unless stated otherwise. Iraq Oil Report typically grants anonymity to sources that can't speak without risking their personal safety or job security. We only publish information from anonymous sources that we independently corroborate and are important to core elements of the story. We do not provide anonymity to sources whose purpose is to further personal or political agendas.
Iraq Oil Report Commitment to Independence
Iraq Oil Report strives to provide thoroughly vetted reporting and fair-minded analysis that enables readers to understand the dynamic events of Iraq. To meet this goal, we always seek to gather first-hand information on the ground, verify facts from multiple angles, and solicit input from every stakeholder involved in a given story.
view our independence as an integral piece of our competitive advantage. Whereas many media entities in Iraq are owned or heavily influenced by political parties, Iraq Oil Report is wholly owned by several of its employees. In a landscape that is often polarized and politicized, we are able to gather and corroborate information from an unusually wide array of sources because we can speak with all of them in good faith.
fund this enterprise, Iraq Oil Report depends on revenue from both advertising and subscriptions. Some of our advertisers and subscribers ‐ including companies, governments, and NGOs ‐ are also subjects of our reporting. Consistent with journalistic best practices, Iraq Oil Report maintains a strict firewall that removes business considerations from editorial decision-making. When we are choosing which stories to report and how to write them, our readers always come first.