Rumaila: A new partnership
The Technical Service Contract between the Basra Oil Company and bp (lead contractor), PetroChina and the State Oil Marketing Organisation was initiated by the Ministry of Oil.
Agreed in 2009 and extended in 2014, this 20-year contract (to 2034) has laid the foundation for the long-term renewal of the field. Details on the individual organizations can be found below.
Basra Oil Company
The State National Institution for Oil changed its name to South Oil Company (SOC) in 1987 and recently changed again to be the Basra Oil Company (BOC). Based in Basra, it is responsible for managing and developing all the oil reserves in Basra city. The company has 25,000 employees with experience and skill sets across all aspects of oil exploration and production.
SOMO
Headquartered in Baghdad, SOMO is responsible for the marketing of Iraqi crude oil and products that are surplus to domestic needs.
The contract is a leading example of how international oil companies can support and maximize state owned oil resources.
bp
bp is one of the world’s largest energy businesses, renowned for its intrepid exploration, frontier engineering and technological innovation. Founded in 1909, bp has deep experience in discovering, appraising, developing and producing giant oilfields, from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, to Tengiz in Kazakhstan. bp has been working in the Middle East for over 100 years. This has included making major discoveries in Iran in the early 1900s, helping to develop super-giant fields in Iraq between the 1930s and 1970s, and discovering oil in Abu Dhabi in 1958. bp has pioneered oil exploration and production in Iraq for many decades. From advanced seismic imaging to enhanced recovery, what unites bp’s activities in exploration, production, refining, marketing and alternative energy is pioneering technology, and an ability to scale-up and manage world-class operations.
PetroChina
PetroChina (CNPC – China National Petroleum Corporation) is the largest oil and gas business in China. PetroChina’s operations span exploration, development, production, marketing, refining, transportation and storage. Strategic discoveries in major exploration areas include the Erdos Basin, the Qaidam Basin, the Bohai Bay Basin and the Sichuan Basin. It also has deep super-giant oilfield experience at Daqing.