Iraq and Angola Partner on Qayyarah Oil Field Expansion Plans
The Oil Ministry of Iraq and Sonangol, the Angolan state-owned oil company, met to discuss ways to boost production and market crude from the Qayyarah oil field in Nineveh. The goal is to increase output from the heavy-oil field and improve access to domestic and export markets.
The planned expansion includes developing an integrated refinery at the site, which would allow more Qayyarah crude to be processed locally. This would reduce the need for transporting oil south through Khor Al-Zubair and increase supplies of petroleum products in Iraq.
Qayyarah was awarded to Sonangol under Iraq's second licensing round in 2009, with an initial target of around 120,000 barrels per day. However, development was disrupted by the ISIS conflict in 2014, which damaged wells and other oil infrastructure across Nineveh.