Iraqi Basra Oil Company has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with US energy major ExxonMobil for the second phase of a seawater utilization project, according to a statement by Iraqi News Agency (INA).
The second phase aims to supply seawater to southern oilfields to support production and maintain reservoir pressure, with a capacity of up to 2.5 million barrels per day (mmbbl/d), said Iraqi Oil Minister Bassem Mohammed Khudair Al-Abadi.
The project will complement French oil major TotalEnergies’ seawater treatment plant at Iraq’s Ratawi oilfield, which has a capacity of 5 million barrels per day (mmbbl/d) and aims to boost the field’s production.
Seawater injection is a primary method used in oil and gas production to maintain underground reservoir pressure and physically sweep remaining hydrocarbons toward production wells.
