Iraq begins final expansion phase at Halfaya oil field

Iraq has launched the third and final phase of work to expand its southern Halfaya oil field, aiming to double its output capacity in 2018 to 400,000 barrels per day, a state-run oil company said.

Additional facilities to separate crude oil from associated natural gas will be set up as part of Halfaya’s expansion, Adnan Noshi, head of Maysan Oil Co which oversees oilfields in Maysan province, told Reuters today.

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Halfaya, operated by PetroChina, is Maysan Oil’s largest field, producing 200,000 of the company’s total output of 380,000 bpd, Noshi said.

Expansion at Halfaya should raise Maysan’s overall output to nearly 600,000 bpd in 2018, he said. Iraq plans to increase its oil output capacity to five million bpd before the end of the year.

Output stood at more than 4.7 million bpd, Oil Minister Jabar Al-Luaibi said on 2 April.