ENI Ups Zubair Oil Target in Iraq

Italy's ENI nudged up its production target for Iraq's giant Zubair oilfield after the Oil Ministry agreed to add more reserves to the area covered by the contract, an Iraqi official said. ENI raised the output target for the field to 1.2 million bpd for the field, from the 1.125 million initially agreed.

"They have asked to add more reservoirs to the Zubair field," said Sabah Abdul Kadhim, legal and commercial chief at Iraq's Petroleum Contracts and Licensing Directorate.

"We accepted on one condition: that they raise their plateau target. They accepted and raised their target to 1.2 million bpd." Reserves may be added to a field by redefining its boundaries or the depth at which companies are allowed to drill.

Zubair is one of Iraq's largest oilfields, with 4 billion barrels of reserves, and was offered by Baghdad in June its first oil auction since the US invasion in 2003. ENI initially rejected the tight terms but later accepted the remuneration fee of US$2 a barrel offered by Baghdad to take on the contract. The ENI-led consortium also includes Occidental Petroleum Corp and South Korea's Kogas. – Reuters