Oil Minister: We have two options to cover ExxonMobil's withdrawal from West Qurna 1

[size=52]Oil Minister: We have two options to cover ExxonMobil's withdrawal from West Qurna 1[/size]

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On Thursday, Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul-Jabbar confirmed that the US company Exxon Mobil preferred to withdraw from the West Qurna/1 field, noting that there are two alternatives to this withdrawal.[/size]
[size=45]Abdul-Jabbar told a number of media outlets on the sidelines of the Iraq International Book Fair that "the American company ExxonMobil preferred to withdraw from the West Qurna 1 field," noting that "the company also withdrew from Australia and another country, despite the fact that its project in Iraq is the largest project."[/size]
[size=45]He added, "The ministry tried, by holding several meetings, with the company's management to discourage it from withdrawing, and an offer was made to it as an additional incentive as an operator."[/size]
[size=45]The Minister of Oil indicated that “the alternative that we have to fill the void is for the Basra Oil Company to buy the share from Exxon Mobil after it expressed its desire to do so and to enter it as a partner in financing the project, similar to its experience in the Zubair field, and initial approval was obtained and the Ministry’s decision to acquire, and the acquisition was also done. The issue was presented to the Council of Ministers to obtain approval,” noting that “the second alternative is the presence of another American company that wants to replace Exxon Mobil.”[/size]
[size=45]On the other hand, Abdul-Jabbar pointed out that "the OPEC meeting, which was held five days ago, is still in place and has not been closed and will continue until the end of this month, and that our discussions are continuing, and the price of the barrel has begun to recover."[/size]
[size=45]The Minister of Oil stressed that "OPEC does not aim to reach a specific price, which would have been $100 a barrel, for example. Rather, OPEC's policy is clear and a balance between supply and demand in the markets."[/size]
[size=45]He pointed out that “the drivers for calculating the price of a barrel are many, which is affected by several factors, including the US strategic stockpile. On the prices, but not by much.[/size]
[size=45]ExxonMobil seeks to sell its 32.7% stake in West Qurna/1 field. West Qurna field is one of the major oil fields in Iraq, and oil was extracted from it for the first time in 1973. It is estimated that it contains 24 billion barrels of oil reserves.[/size]
[size=45]Iraq is the second largest oil producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries after Saudi Arabia, and oil revenues contribute at least 95 percent of Iraq's general budget.[/size]
[size=45]During the year 2010, Iraq signed several contracts with international companies to develop its oil fields within the first and second licensing rounds. Most of these fields were concentrated on the southern fields[/size]
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