1

1-Introduction :

Evidence of humans using oil extends far back to the ancient

Greeks, but only since the early 1900s has it played an important
role in our politics, economics, and daily lives. Today, oil and gas
provide more than half of the world’s energy needs. The
commodity has shifted huge amounts of wealth across the world
and played a major role in international relations.
Oil and gas in Iraq is significant to Iraq’s history, modern
economy, and domestic and international politics. The
International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that Iraq produced
2.95 million barrels of crude oil per day (mbd) in 2012, and in its
2012 report, projected that production would more than double to
6.1 mbd by 2020. In the same report, IEA estimated that such an
increase would bring Iraq a total of $5 trillion in revenues from
oil exports between 2012 and 2035, averaging $200 billion per
year.
Iraq’s economy is dependent on the oil and gas sector. More than
90 percent of Iraq’s annual federal budget comes from oil
revenues, and as of 2012, revenues from oil account for about
two-thirds of Iraq’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). As a result,
Iraq’s economy depends on the oil sector and is vulnerable to
changes in oil prices.

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Iraq’s valuable oil resources are related to the state’s ability to

fund the building of hospitals, schools, roads and bridges and pay
its policemen, soldiers, and teachers their salaries. The oil and
gas sector is the prime source of this funding. Unlike the income
tax in Iraq for individuals and businesses, which is 15 percent,
the tax rate for oil and gas and related industries is 35 percent.1
On top of these taxes, many of the individual oil production
contracts signed with federal government and the regional
governments include terms that require companies to share
revenues earned from drilling with the government.
There are several reasons why oil and gas is an important topic
and was included in this textbook. The presence of oil and gas in
Iraq has shaped the country’s history and will play a large role in
its political future. Second, oil and gas political and legal issues
are connected to the major debates about how the government
should distribute power and resources. In this way, the oil
and gas chapter is critical to understanding other topics in the
book, such as federalism and the constitution. Because oil and
gas are such a large part of Iraq’s economy, understanding this
topic will help students learn about trade and commerce issues.
Lastly, disagreements about oil and gas are responsible for much
of the tension between leaders of the central government and the
KRG. Understanding the material in this chapter will make
students more aware of the important Baghdad-Erbil relationship

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Despite being one of the most important and fiercely debated

topics in Iraq right now, it is not always clear which law governs
oil and gas activities. First, there is the Constitution of Iraq,
which is the supreme law of the land. The provisions of the
Federal Constitution govern every Iraqi, whether they are from
Basra, Baghdad or Erbil. The Federal Parliament – Iraq’s main
legislative body – can also pass laws that can clarify, execute, or
expand on some areas of the Constitution. The Iraqi Constitution
also allows the legislative bodies of autonomous provinces to pass
laws, as long as they conform to the Federal Constitution. These
laws only apply to the region itself and do not affect the rest of
Iraq. Finally, Iraq has signed on to a number of international
treaties and has signed contracts with various individual
businesses which further govern both parties’ actions. Iraqi oil
and gas law is a complicated mix of all of these sources of law.
How do all of them interact? As you move through this chapter,
keep in mind this hierarchy of sources and try to remember
which type of source we are talking about in each section.

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2-The beginnings of the discovery of oil in Iraq:

The beginning Oil has been discovered since ancient times prior
to modern history, as the people of Babylon used some types of
black oil in their buildings and streets, and most types of oil wells
were very close to the surface of the earth, so I began extracting
it commercially since the beginning of the twentieth century,
where The first to extract it was the Iraqi Oil Company in 1912,
a Turkish company. A British company called ABC worked in
the Babakkar area of Kirkuk in 1927. It continued its
exploration work until 1961 after the issuance of Law No. 80 of
Qasim’s government to nationalize oil and prevent its later
discovery by foreign oil companies operating in Iraq. Then Iraqi
President Abd al-Salam Aref established the National Oil
Company in 1964, working with exploration
And oil exploration in Iraq, until it was completely nationalized
by Iraqi President Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr on June 1, 1972, with
the cooperation of the Iraqi people and their national forces,
especially the Iraqi Communist Party, and the support and
backing of the socialist countries, led by the former Soviet
Union.. The conflict remained based on Iraq’s wealth between
countries. colonialism until the beginning of World War I. Then
it continued after the war, after France replaced Germany and
after a long struggle, the shares have settled since 1928 as
follows: 23.75% British Oil Company 23.75% Royal Dutch /

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Royal Dutch Shell 23.75% French Oil Company 23.75%

American Oil Company 5% Gulbenkian Share The discovered
Iraqi fields amount to 71 fields, of which only 27 have been
exploited, including ten giant ones. The currently producing oil
and gas fields are concentrated in the Basra and Kirkuk
governorates. And after them come in importance the fields of
Maysan, Baghdad, Salah al-Din, Diyala and Nineveh provinces.
As for the undiscovered and undeveloped fields, they are found in
most of the governorates of Iraq, except for four, which are Al-
Qadisiyah, Babel, Al-Anbar and Dohuk. After the fall of the
monarchy in 1958, the new government paid special attention to
oil issues. It formed a special ministry for oil in 1959, followed by
the government's request from companies to reconsider the
concession agreement to improve terms and implement what the
government believed in its right according to this agreement. But
the talks failed, so the government issued the famous Law No. 80
on December 11, 1961, which placed 99.5% of the concession
lands under the control of the Iraqi government, and left the
areas of oil-producing fields to foreign companies only. Oil
remained at the mercy of foreign companies and their policies
until the idea of nationalization began to crystallize. The first
person to call for nationalization was the martyr Dr. Muhammad
Salman Hassan for the first time in Iraq to nationalize oil,
through a very deep study that was given at the Economists
Syndicate in the late sixties of the twentieth century, and was

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published in a book titled “Towards” Nationalization of Iraqi Oil

'In his studies towards (Nationalization of Iraqi Oil), which was
given as a lecture in 1966
The government's desire to play a greater role increased, after
the companies' reluctance to implement their desires to increase
production and improve the terms of the agreements signed with
them. This strengthened the position of the Iraqi National Oil
Company. It strengthened its promise and began extensive
exploration operations with the help of some friendly countries in
the lands that were seized. After strenuous negotiations between
the two parties, the government issued Resolution No. 69 on
6/1/1972, according to which the operations of the Iraq
Petroleum Company were nationalized, followed gradually by the
nationalization of the oil companies operating in the Basra Oil
Company and Mosul until the complete nationalization of all the
work and interests of the international oil companies in Iraq,
under Law No.

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3-The time periods that Iraq's oil has passed

through :

A- istory from 1918 to 1945 :

In the years after World War I, Iraq was placed under British
control. Great Britain gained control over Mosul and installed
Faisal as King of Iraq in 1921. After much negotiation between
the Turkish Petroleum Company and the Iraqi government, a 75-
year concession was signed in March 1925. In 1927, oil was
discovered in Baba Gurgur, just north of Kirkuk.
In 1929, TPC (now called the Iraqi Petroleum Company (IPC))
revised their concessionary agreement in a way which included
many other oil companies. Calouste Gulbenkian, an obscure
Armenian businessman who orchestrated the first oil concession
agreements, retained a 5% ownership stake as well. This
agreement was called the Red Line Agreement after a red line
was drawn around the Ottoman Empire, binding partners to
cooperate within the line. In 1931 a new concession was granted
to IPC, giving a 70-year concession over a larger area. In
exchange, Iraq sought increased payments and a commitment to
build two pipelines to the Mediterranean by 1935.6 The IPC
operated another company called the Mosul Petroleum Company
and won a third concession in 1938 in the south of Iraq that
would be developed by a company called the Basrah Petroleum
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Company (BPC).7 The IPC remained in stable control of the

Iraqi oil industry for decades. Production of oil was around
100,000 bpd before WWII, but rose to 400,000 bpd by 1952.
While oil production increased, a rise in Arab nationalism
precipitated demands for a larger share of revenue for Iraq in
late 1940s 8.

B- History from 1945 to 1980 :

After World War II, international oil companies began to extract

large amounts of oil from Saudi Arabia. The agreements reached
in the 1950s between Saudi Arabia and the United States
increased the amount of oil to be extracted and provided for the
payment of 50% of profits to Saudi Arabia. Like in Saudi Arabia,
the IPC agreed to pay Iraq 50% of their profit from Iraqi oil and
to expand production to 225 million barrels per year.9 On July
14, 1958, Abd Al-Karim Qasim overthrew King Faisal II in a
military coup and installed himself as the country’s leader.
Before the coup, Qasim had used the foreign control of oil as a
major issue to distinguish himself from the government. During
this time, the Iraqi populace had become skeptical about the
international companies extracting Iraq’s oil and the IPC was
widely criticized.10 Qasim sought to renegotiate the agreements
that were made with the IPC. Qasim demanded that the IPC
grant more favorable terms, but he decided not to nationalize the

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oil industry because of the fear that international companies

would boycott oil from Iraq, as had happened when western
countries boycotted Iranian oil after Iran’s Prime Minister
Mohammad Mosaddegh nationalized the Iranian oil industry in
1951.
In response to the strength of the IPC, Iraq became a lead
champion of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC). Iraq convened the first meeting of oil
producing countries to discuss the formation of OPEC in 1960.
The idea was to strengthen the producer country’s hand in
revenue negotiations and limit company discretion to change
production or price practices.11 Negotiations between Iraq and
the IPC continued to be unproductive, leading Iraq to pass Law
80. The law reduced the IPC’s holdings. Later, Iraq created the
Iraq National Oil Company (INOC) to develop land obtained
under Law 80. In 1970, the government issued a new set of
demands asking for more control of the IPC. When these
negotiations failed, Iraq’s government nationalized the IPC and
placed it under the control of the INOC.12 Despite
nationalization, the Iraqi government granted several contracts to
French and Soviet companies. The Soviet Union guaranteed a
market for Iraqi oil, which kept the Iraqi economy afloat during
a period when the Ba’ath Party was criticized for the
nationalization. Despite the outside pressure, the nationalization
was domestically popular and the Ba’ath Party earned credit and
praise for the act that would help support the party for many
years to come.13

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c-The 1980s and 1990s: War Years

The rest of the 1970s were years of expansion and profit. The
Iraqi oil industry was booming and by 1980, Iraq was producing
about 3.4 million barrels per day. These gains were reversed as
relations with Iran deteriorated and the two countries began an
eight-year war that would have disastrous consequences for the
oil industry.14 Oil facilities became immediate targets for attacks
from Iran. Almost as soon as war was declared, all oil
installations in the south were damaged or destroyed which
eliminated oil exports from the Gulf. Iraq had only one means of
export (a pipeline through Turkey) that could only export about
750,000 barrels per day. By 1990, Iraq was producing less than 3
million barrels per day. On August 2, 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait.
In return, the United States began bombing Iraq on January 17,
1991, following up with a ground invasion of Kuwait later that
month and of Iraq itself in February. Almost immediately, Iraqi
oil production plummeted. By the middle of the year, Iraq was
only producing 75,000 barrels per day – the lowest amount since
the early days of the oil industry. By the end of February, 100
hours after the ground campaign started, U.S. President George
H.W. Bush declared a ceasefire.15
Simultaneous to the invasion of Iraq and continuing, more or
less, until 2003, the United Nations (UN) imposed a complete
trade embargo (a legal prohibition on importing or exporting
goods to or from Iraq), especially on the export of oil. As a result
of the embargo’s crippling effect on Iraq’s economy, the UN
created the Oil for Food Program, which allowed Iraq to sell
some of its oil to earn enough revenue to provide social services
to the people of Iraq.

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D- The Coalition Provisional Authority and the

Interim Government of Iraq :

Like with the other conflicts, when the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003,
oil production dropped briefly before returning to pre-conflict
levels. Immediately following the fall of Baghdad, the Coalition
Provisional Authority (CPA), led by the United States and the
United Kingdom, governed Iraq. The CPA tried to restore the oil
infrastructure in the country. In 2004, the CPA transferred
power to Iraq’s interim government. In 2004, the interim
government set up the Supreme Oil and Gas Council to formulate
oil and gas policy. At their first meeting, the new body proposed
reestablishing the Iraq National Oil Company. INOC would be a
public company owned by the state and responsible for all
production, headed by an Oil Minister and a board of directors.
The idea was very unpopular among local political groups, who
opposed centralizing control of Iraq’s oil. The Kurds, in
particular, were adamant about giving regional governments
power over oil and gas resources.16 The U.S. allocated $1.72
billion in aid for oil reconstruction but results did not meet
expectations due to poor coordination and corruption.17
Additionally, between April 2003 and October 2005, there were
282 documented attacks against oil infrastructure, which also
made it more difficult to operate.18 Iraq’s oil and gas history
shows several important trends that are very much reflected in
the legal issues that are discussed in the sections below. First, the
history shows a tense relationship between the Iraqi Government
and international oil companies. The government has historically
sought increased production and an increase in its share of the
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profits. Oil companies, on the other hand, have historically

sought to control their production decisions and to increase their
own share of profits. Second, the history shows that when these
desires come into conflict, Iraq’s leaders have challenged the oil
companies. One example of this strategy can be seen in the
nationalization of the IPC and efforts to encourage the creation
of OPEC. Third, the history shows that oil is often impacted by
international conflicts, such as the Iran-Iraq War. Fourth, the
history shows that control of oil and gas resources is important to
debates between the central government and regional authorities

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4-Oil fields in Iraq :

According to geological studies, Iraq contains about

530 geological structures that give strong indications
of the presence of a huge amount of oil. Only 115 of
these structures were excavated, including 71 that
proved to contain huge oil reserves spread over many
fields.

The discovered Iraqi fields amount to 71, of which

only 27 have been exploited, including ten giant ones.

The currently producing oil and gas fields are

concentrated in the Basra and Kirkuk governorates.
And after them come in importance the fields of
Maysan, Baghdad, Salah al-Din, Diyala and Nineveh
provinces.

As for the undiscovered and undeveloped fields, they

are found in most of the governorates of Iraq, except
for four:
Al-Qadisiyah, Babel, Al-Anbar and Dohuk.

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*The oil fields in Iraq are divided according to

1- Northern Governorates
2- Central governorates
3- Southern Governorates

1- Northern Governorates :
It includes the governorates of Mosul, Kirkuk (Al Tamim),
Dohuk, Erbil, Sulaymaniyah and Salah al-Din. :

* Baba Gurgur fields in Kirkuk

* Bay Hassan field
* Belkhana field
* Jambor Fields
* Chamchamal fields in Kirkuk
* Hamrin fields
*A baker's field in Kirkuk
* Safia fields in Mosul
* Ajil field in Salah al-Din
* Qayyarah field in Mosul
* Kirkuk field

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* Ain Zala fields in Mosul

* Butma fields in Mosul
* Bai Hassan fields in Kirkuk
* Koysanjak fields

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Kirkuk field :
This field was discovered in 1927 and entered the production
phase in 1934 under the management of the Iraq Petroleum
Company after the completion of the construction of a pipeline
from Kirkuk to the two ports of Haifa in Palestine. It was
considered the largest oil field in the world for twenty years until
the emergence of the Ghawar field in Saudi Arabia in the fifties.
It forms the basis of northern Iraqi oil production with nearly 9
billion barrels of reserves as of 2006.
And the Kirkuk field adopts a simplified export system. Once the
oil is extracted from the ground, it is sent through the Kirkuk-
Ceyhan oil pipeline to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, where it is
shipped around the world.
The oil production of the Kirkuk field in 1991 was estimated at
900,000 barrels per day (bpd). And in December of 1991, the
Russian company, Zarubisneft, said that it was drilling multiple
wells in the Kirkuk field, and that this did not constitute a
violation of United Nations sanctions. Zarubisneft had hoped to
increase the production of the Kirkuk field from 900,000 barrels
to 1.1 million barrels per day.

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▪️ Reserves and Production:

The Kirkuk field is considered one of the important oil fields in
Iraq, as it is estimated that the reserves of the field are
approximately 10 billion barrels of oil of good quality. The
maximum capacity of the field is one million barrels per day, but
the average production during the past few years has greatly
decreased until it fell to about 150 thousand barrels per day only.
Before the 2003 invasion, the Kirkuk field was producing
680,000 barrels per day, but this production decreased to 200,000
barrels per day after the war.

▪️ Field characteristics:
The Kirkuk field is 100 km long and 12 km wide. The reserves
are estimated at 8.7 billion barrels. The Kirkuk field usually
produces API 350, crude sulfur 1.97%. Although the
attractiveness of the API and sulfur content recorded a sharp
decline in the months leading up to the war in 2003. The gravity
in Kirkuk, for example, has been reduced to 320-330 API. While
the sulfur content increased to more than 2%.

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*Jambour field:
It is located northeast of the city of Kirkuk and is parallel to the
fields of Kirkuk and Bai Hassan. Production began in August
1959, and the current production is 50,000 barrels per day.

Bai Hassan fields :

It is located to the west of the Kirkuk field, parallel to it in the
direction. And the wells of the Bay field Hassan is deeper than
the wells of the Kirkuk field, and its depth ranges between one
thousand and five hundred meters to three thousand meters.
Production started in June 1959. Reserves are 7 billion barrels.

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* Ain Zala fields in Mosul :

The field is located about 80 km northwest of the city of Mosul,
and it was found to be small in size and length
It is 16 kilometers long and approximately 4 kilometers wide,
and contains two reservoirs, as shown in the figure below.
The upper reservoir is located at a depth of 600,1 meters below
the surface of the earth, and the thickness of its rocks varies
Under the surface of oil from 75 to 90, while the lower reservoir
is located at a depth
meters 225,2 meters
The maximum thickness of its oil rocks is estimated to be about
400 meters, and the two reservoirs are connected via
Very narrow fissures through a band of hard rock.
As for Ain Mazala oil, it is heavier than Kirkuk oil, as its upper
reservoir has a density of 7.33 degrees
On the scale of the American Petroleum Institute, it contains 3%
of sulfur. As for the percentage of dissolved fuzzy?
It has an estimated 290 cubic feet per barrel. As for the density
of the oil of its lower reservoir, it is 4.31
A grade on the American Petroleum Institute scale, it contains
6.2% sulfur.
As for the production capacity of the wells, it is also considered
low, as the production rate from the reservoir wells is estimated
The upper reservoir with 5,000 barrels per day and the lower
reservoir with 4,000 barrels per day.

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Production from this field stabilized after several years of

production at a rate ranging between 18,000
to 19,000 barrels per day to ensure, in conjunction with the
Butma field production, an average rate of more than
20,000 barrels per day, equivalent to one million tons annually,
which is the minimum required to be exported
Under the oil agreement signed with the Iraqi government.

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* Butma fields in Mosul :

The discovery of the Butma oil field
This field parallel to the Ain Mazala field was discovered in 1952
in an area to the southeast of it.
It is approximately ten kilometers away from it, with a length of
12 kilometers and a width of 6 kilometers
The field roughly consists of two separate domes, east and west,
where most of the oil lies in a reservoir
The Western Dome, which is located at a depth of 150.1 meters
below the surface of the earth. As for the oil of this field, it is
Heavier than Ain Mazala oil, with a density of 8.29 on the
American Petroleum Institute scale.
This field is classified as one of the small Iraqi fields
5,000 barrels per day, from which production began
automatically in its early years and by pumps In subsequent
years.

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* Nuqat al-Qayyarah field in northern Iraq - the Mosul area:

then it was explored in 1927 and production began during the
1930s. The extracted oil is very heavy sour cru Reserves: 800
million barrels of oil Quality: Very heavy and sour (15 API
grades). Developed by: Angolan company Sonangol awarded the
contract (75%), with North Oil Company (25%), in 2010 at $6.00
a barrel .

______________________________________________________
Other fields include Jamajmal, Koysanjak, Khabaza field in
Tamim Governorate, and the depleted Ain Azlah field in Nineveh
Governorate.
And nearby is the Butma field, which is located in a
mountainous area, and the Safiya field, which is adjacent to the
Syrian border, and the Qayyarah field
Nineveh Governorate.

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Among the northern fields are the Tikrit field, the Ajil
field, and the Balad field, all of which are in the Salah al-
Din Governorate. as
The Khana oil field is located in Diyala Governorate, in
the center of the country.

Field name Region Production/barrel

1- Kirkuk field kirkuk 720,000
2- Bai Hassan kirkuk 100,000
3- Jambour field kirkuk 50,000
4- al-Qayyarah field mosul 30,000
5- Butma fields mosul 5,000
6- Ain Zala fields mosul 18,000
Table (1) shows the northern Iraqi oil fields and their daily
production

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2- Central governorates :

This region includes the governorates of Diyala,

Baghdad and Anbar

* East Baghdad field

* Al-Ahdab field:

* Balad field in Diyala province

* Badra field

* Mansouriya gas field in Diyala Governorate

(discovered and undeveloped)

* Cormorant cane field in Anbar (discovered and

undeveloped)

* Akkas field in Al-Qaim in Anbar

* Naftkhana field in Diyala governorate

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* Al-Ahdab field:
also known as Al-Ahdab, is located in Wasit Governorate
180 km southeast of Baghdad. In 1979, he discovered
reserves estimated at 1 billion barrels of oil. The field also
contains 750 billion standard cubic feet of associated gas
reserves, but no plans for its commercial development have
been announced, in which case the gas will likely be flared
or re-injected. The field's oil reserves are estimated at
more than 1 billion barrels. Oil production from the
Ahdab field began on July 1, 2011, which is operated by
the China National Petroleum Corporation, with a
production capacity of 60,000 barrels per day, and
production capacity will increase to 120,000 barrels per
day within six months.” Most of the production from the
Ahdab field will be exported, but some of it will be
exported. It will use fuel for nearby power plants to ease
the electricity shortage.

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* East Baghdad field:

It was discovered in 1976, the field is located east of
Baghdad, 70 kilometers northwest of the Al-Ahdab field,
that east Baghdad contains 8 billion barrels (1.3 billion
cubic meters) of recoverable reserves and is believed to
have a production capacity of 400,000 barrels per day
(64,000 m). / day). It is 11 kilometers (6.8 miles) wide, 64
kilometers long, and covers an area of 822 square
kilometers. It has northern extensions in Salah al-Din
Governorate, and southern supplies in Wasit Governorate,
and its production is about 20 thousand barrels per day,
while its total production, if developed, is estimated at
about 120 thousand barrels per day.

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* Badra field

It was discovered in the year 1979, the production capacity

is estimated at 17,000 barrels. The Badra oil field is
located in Wasit Governorate, about 160 km southeast of
Baghdad Governorate. Where it is considered a common
border field with the Islamic Republic of Iran. It is
characterized by its light oil API=35O, and the field area is
96 km2 within Iraqi territory (16×6).

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* Naftkhana field in Diyala governorate :

The Khana oil field is located on the Iraqi-Iranian border with a

length of (20)
(km) and width (5.4) km, while its height is (590) feet
Above sea level. The number of wells dug in the field is (42).
It is about 140 km northeast of Baghdad, and it is an
asymmetrical convex fold of slopes, the direction of its axis is
from
From the northwest to the southeast, there are two submersibles.
Since ancient times, oil has been flowing from this region on the
face of the earth. The first geographical exploration well in the
Naft Khana region was drilled on May 26, 1923, at a depth of
2415 feet, and oil flowed from it in commercial quantities. At a
rate of 150,000 to 200,000 gallons per day, crude oil was
previously extracted in wells, with 42 wells dug.

Petroleum oil is one of the finest types of oil in the world.

Crude oil is also considered one of the finest types of oil in the
world, because of its low specificity, in addition to the low
percentage of sulfur and asphalt present in it, so it was produced
from this field of aviation gasoline, and it is considered one of the
most expensive types of fuel. Khanaqin oil was also flowing
automatically without the need To the pumping machines due to

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the force of the gas present in the oil wells. The concession of
this area had been granted to the former Anglo-Iranian Oil
Company since 1901, and oil was found in this area before the
First World War. To invest the Khanaqin oil fields and refining
the extracted oil in the Alwand refinery in Khanaqin, which is
located on the Alwan River, which is about 40 km from the
Khana oil fields, in order to meet the internal needs of Iraq,
especially the central and northern region, for oil products. On
December 25, 1951, the Iraqi government purchased Khanaqin
oil facilities, including Including Alwand refinery. The
Khanaqin Oil Company was entrusted with managing these
facilities as its agent for a period of ten years at a fixed annual
fee.

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* Akkas field in Al-Qaim in Anbar :

The Akkas gas field is an Iraqi natural gas field,

discovered in 1992. The field started in 1993 in the
production of natural gas and its condensates.
The total proven reserves in the Akkas field are about
5.6 trillion cubic feet (160 x 109 m3) and a production
of about 400 million cubic feet/day (11.4 x 106m3).
The field is located south of Al-Qaim city in Anbar
Governorate, western Iraq, and is considered the largest
gas field in Iraq. The Akkas field was discovered in
1981, and in 1983 oil was also discovered in the Akkas
region.

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Field name Region Production/barrel

1- Akkas field Al-Qaim in 400 million cubic
Anbar feet per day
2- Al-Ahdab field wasit 25,000
3- East Baghdad field Baghdad-salah al 20,000
din
4-Badra field wasit 17,000
Table No. (2) shows the oil fields in the central region and their
production

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3- Southern Governorates

• This region includes the governorates of Basra,

Maysan and Dhi Qar.

• Abu Zarkan field

• Abu Gharb field (Maysan)

• Rumaila fields in Basra

• Zubair field

• Gourna field

• West Qurna field

• The giant Majnoon field in Basra Governorate

• Giant Nahr Ibn Omar field

• The giant Halfaya field in Basra

• The giant Nasiriyah field in Dhi Qar governorate

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• Dhi Qar Garraf Field

• Sinbad's field

• West Kifl field

• Sabbah field

• Dujaila field

• A mountain field above me

• Nasiriyah fields

• gasping field

• Bazerkan fields

• Fakka field (Maysan)

• Al-Sharhani field (Maysan)

• Al-Luhais field in Basra

• Al-Tuba field in Basra

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* Rumaila fields in Basra :

The Rumaila fields are a group of discovered oil wells whose oil
is actually being invested, and it extends from the middle of
western Basra to the north of the State of Kuwait. It is called in
Kuwait the Ratqa field. The Rumaila fields are divided into two
parts: the northern Rumaila, and the southern Rumaila adjacent
to Kuwait. It is the ninth largest oil field in the world and its
layers are the best types of oil. Its exploitation dates back to
November 1970. In the seventies of the last century, its wells were
less than twenty and have now reached more than 663 producing
wells. Oil is extracted from the Rumaila fields under the
supervision of the South Oil Company in Basra.,,,,,, the field site
and its surface
The field is located 50 km west of the city of Basra in southern
Iraq. Basra is home to the six Iraqi ports, including the deep port
of Umm Qasr.
The Rumaila field includes a large area of 1,600 square
kilometers, extending about 80 km from north to south and about
20 km from west to east, where there are two convex folds that
form domes in the north and south of Rumaila. Quality: The oil
is sweet (low sulfur) and about 34 degree API gravity.

OIL FIELDS IN IRAQ

35

___________________________________________________
* Al-Zubair field :
Al-Zubair field is an Iraqi oil field located in Al-
Zubayr in the Basra Governorate in southern Iraq.
The history of the field dates back to 1949, when the
first quantity of it was produced, and the field
produces about 220,000 barrels per day. A convex
structure, whose axis extends north-northwest-south-
southeast, and consists of two peaks: the Hammar
peak in the north and the Rafidah peak in the south.
And a section of the southern part of the Rafida peak
extends inside Kuwaiti territory. The two peaks are
separated by a saddle depression. Geometrically, the
structure is classified as a convex fold, symmetrical,
non-cylindrical, uneven, longitudinal, horizontal,
straight, simple, with very close harmony lines. From
a structural point of view, the structure is the result of

OIL FIELDS IN IRAQ

36

the combination of three factors: the impulsion of the

base rocks, the tectonics of the salts, and alpine
orogeny. And that the peak of the donkey was mainly
affected by the tectonics of the salts, while the peak of
the Rafida was affected by the rush of the base rocks,
and the alpine movement was responsible for the
formation of the installation in its final stage.

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What distinguishes the southern region from others is that its oil
is light and has a low percentage of sulfur in it and does not
contain heavy products and is easy to refine due to the weather
conditions in the southern region, unlike the northern and
central regions.
________________________________________________
Field name Region Production/barrel

1- Rumaila Basra 1073000

2- Gourna Basra 300,000
3- Majnoon Basra 150,000
Table No. (3) shows the oil fields in the southern region and their
production

OIL FIELDS IN IRAQ