The Iraqi Oil Ministry has announced signing a deal with Schlumberger to drill 40 wells in the giant Majnoon oilfield, Reuters reported.

The agreement with the international services firm aims to increase production from the field, Iraqi Oil Minister Thamir Ghadhban said in a statement.

A separate deal was signed by field operator Basra Oil Company (BOC) and state-run Oil Exploration Company on December 19 to conduct a seismic survey in Majnoon to boost its production.

“Carrying out a three-dimensional seismic survey by the Oil Exploration Company in Majnoon will help to obtain accurate data and boost production at the field,” Thamer Ghadhban, Iraq’s Oil Minister said.

In June, Royal Dutch Shell handed the field’s operations to the BOC.

Crude oil output from Majnoon currently exceeds 240,000 barrels per day (b/d), the ministry said.

Iraq is the second largest producer in OPEC, and is currently pumping a below-capacity 4.6 million b/d.