Iraq considers US$200 million plan to reverse oil-output decline

A high-level committee set up by Iraq’s Oil Ministry to look into the causes of a sharp fall in southern oil production has presented a US$200 million accelerated action plan to try to reverse the trend amid expectations of a more than 100,000 bpd fall in production capacity from the south in 2009.

A copy of the Accelerated Plan presented to Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani was the subject of a detailed report by energy analyst firm Platts. It designates the fields where capacity can be boosted by using internal resources. The committee was established in December 2008 and is headed by deputy prime minister Barham Saleh and includes two former post-war oil ministers, Thamer Ghadban and Ibrahim Bahr al-Uloum.
BusinessIntelligence