OREANDA-NEWS. Gazprom Neft, the operator of the Badra oil field in Iraq, announces that first oil from the field is now being delivered to Iraq's main pipeline system for transfer to the export terminal in Basra (Persian Gulf). Current deliveries from Badra to the pipeline stand at over 15,000 barrels of oil per day and this level should be maintained until the end of 2014. According to the service contract with the Government of Iraq, the consortium of investor companies will begin receiving a share of the oil produced at the field after a period of 90 days following launch of commercial supply.

All of the oil produced in southern Iraq, including at Badra, is Basrah Light oil. The Iraqi State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) is responsible for oil sales and each quarter will be delivering a share of oil to the investor companies to reimburse their initial project costs. Once these project costs have been covered, the investor companies will receive remuneration in kind for ongoing development at the rate of USD 5.5 of oil per barrel produced. Each investor company will be selling their share of oil independently.

First oil from the Badra field was produced in December 2013. Final commissioning at the field and testing of production and transportation infrastructure began in May 2014. Two wells are currently in production at the field and a further three wells are being drilled under a contract with the Chinese company ZPEC. According to the service contract production at the field will achieve 170,000 barrels of oil per day.

Alexander Dyukov, Chairman of the Management Board of Gazprom Neft, said:

"Over the period of just a few years, a consortium of companies led by Gazprom Neft has fully prepared Badra, one of the most complex geological field structures in Iraq, for full-scale commercial development. This is the first major international project in upstream the company has implemented from scratch. The unique experience gained during this project will contribute to our development of future projects both in Russia and internationally".