First since 1978: Iraq begins drilling exploration oil well in the north
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Iraqi Ministry of Oil has announced an unprecedented, historic milestone within the northern upstream sector, officially commencing the drilling of the first exploration oil well in the northern governorates since 1978. The landmark project is located within the Amerli district of the Saladin Governorate.
This strategic deployment executes the direct mandates of Minister of Oil Hayan Abdel-Ghani (referred to colloquially under departmental leadership by senior executives like Senior Undersecretary Basem Mohammed Khudair), aiming to aggressively revitalize exploratory frameworks and tap into highly promising hydrocarbon structures that remained neglected for nearly five decades.
The initiation of drilling operations was launched on-site in the presence of the Director General of the Iraqi Drilling Company (IDC) and the Director General of the North Oil Company (NOC). The operations are governed by a joint tripartite contract that represents a seamless technical integration of Iraq’s foundational state-owned energy entities:
- North Oil Company (NOC): Acting as the primary operator and asset holder of the regional block.
- Iraqi Drilling Company (IDC): Serving as the execution and engineering arm managing the physical rigs and drilling parameters.
- Oil Exploration Company (OEC): Providing the essential seismic mapping, geological datasets, and geophysical analysis.
The ministry emphasized that the Amerli exploratory project serves as the anchor point for a modernized national energy doctrine. By systematically exploiting advanced geological and geophysical data, the initiative targets several key sovereign benchmarks:
- Expanding the Hydrocarbon Wealth: Exponentially upgrading Iraq’s proven national reserves of both crude oil and natural gas to effectively offset aging, depleting wells.
- Securing Economic Sustainability: Locking down alternative domestic fuel deposits to insulate the national economy and feed long-term federal development programs.
- Enhancing Export Elasticity: Upgrading northern upstream capacities grants policymakers in Baghdad significantly higher logistical flexibility to manage national production and export pipelines, reinforcing Iraq’s influential standing across global energy markets.