Lukoil to continue launching new production capacity at West Qurna 2 in Iraq
MOSCOW. May 20 (Interfax) - Russian oil company Lukoil expects to continue implementing its plans under the project to develop the West Qurna 2 field in Iraq.
"Despite the difficult situation in the industry, we intend to keep working on the launch of new production capacity and are counting on the support of the Iraqi side in this regard," Lukoil Mid-East Limited CEO Yegor Zubarev said in the corporate newspaper.
"We hope that together with the Oil Ministry of Iraq and Basra Oil Company we will find mutually beneficial solutions that will make it possible to ensure cost effectiveness for all participants in the West Qurna 2 project," Zubarev said.
"It's important for us to come out of this crisis with minimal losses, preserving organizational capabilities and human resources. I want to stress that, despite the difficult situation in the sector, not a single Iraqi employee of Lukoil has been laid off. On the contrary, the company is hiring new employees from among local personnel," Zubarev said.
Lukoil is developing the West Qurna 2 field in Iraq, which is located in the southern part of the country, 65 km northwest of the large port city of Basra. This is one of the largest oil fields in the world, with initial recoverable reserves of about 14 billion barrels.