Russian oil major Lukoil have began their drilling programme for new production wells at the West Qurna 2 oilfield which it operates near Basra in Southern Iraq.
Drilling has commenced at 57 production wells to date, marking the beginning of the company's development plan to drive up production from current levels of 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) to a targeted figure of 480,000 bpd by next year.
The development plan, signed with the Ministry of Oil in 2018, has long term targets for production of 800,000 bpd at the oilfield by 2025.
Source: Lukoil