Shell has signed a $210m contract with Halliburton to drill 30 wells in Iraq’s Majnoon oil field, Reuters reported. The agreement will double the field’s production after three years. Majnoon’s output should rise to about 400,000 b/d in the given period, up from the current 220,000 b/d. According to EuroPétrole, Halliburton will mobilize three rigs to drill development wells and carry out work over activities over the next two years.

Halliburton’s Senior Vice-President of the Middle East and North Africa Region, Ahmed Kenawi, said: “We have provided drilling services on this project for the past six years and signing this contract is a testimony to the safe and high quality service we previously delivered.”

Shell is the operator of the Majnoon field, which is one of the richest oil fields in the world with an estimated 38b barrels of oil in place located 60 km north of Basra City, in southern Iraq. In January 2010, the Iraqi Ministry of Oil awarded Shell, Petronas, and Missan, the state-owned company a 20-year contract to provide technical assistance in the development of the Majnoon field.

Halliburton is the leading service company in Iraq for engineering solutions with an aim to maximize the asset value of its customers and the country. The company is focused on the health and safety of its operations, the empowerment of its national workforce, and its commitment to service quality and efficiency.