Rumaila oil field

Rumaila
Rumaila
	Location of Rumaila
Country	Iraq
Location	Basra, Iraq
Offshore/onshore	Onshore
Coordinates	30°09′22″N 47°24′28″E / 30.156112°N 47.407722°E
Operator	Rumaila Operating Organisation
Owner	Basra Oil Company
Partners	Technical Service Partners: Basra Energy Company Ltd (BECL) comprising BP and CNPC, ; State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO)
Field history
Discovery	1953
Production
Current production of oil	14,210,000 barrels per day (~7.081×108 t/a)
Year of current production of oil	2022
Estimated oil in place	17,000 million barrels (~2.3×109 t)
Producing formations	Main Pay, Mishrif, Upper Shale, Bn Umer, 4th Pay

The Rumaila oil field is a super-giant oil field^[1] located in southern Iraq, approximately 50km to the south west of Basra City.^[2] Discovered in 1953 by the Basrah Petroleum Company (BPC), an associate company of the Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC),^[3]^[4]^[5] the field is estimated to contain 17 billion barrels, which accounts for 12% of Iraq's oil reserves, estimated at 143 billion barrels.^[6]^[7]^[8] Rumaila is said to be the largest oilfield ever discovered in Iraq^[9] and is one of the three largest oil fields in the world.^[10]

Under Abd al-Karim Qasim, the oilfield was nationalised by the Iraqi government by Public Law No. 80 on 11 December 1961.^[11] Since then, this massive oil field has remained under Iraqi control. The assets and rights of IPC were nationalized by Saddam Hussein in 1972, and those of BPC in 1975.^[12] The dispute between Iraq and Kuwait over alleged slant-drilling in the field was one of reasons for Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990.^[13]^[14]

After decades of under investment, by the early 2000s, the field was suffering not only from the natural base decline of its reservoirs, but also from ageing infrastructure and equipment, compromising both production capacity, environmental protection and safety.

North Rumaila is called "the cemetery" by the locals. A local environmental scientist told the BBC that cancer in the area is so rife it is "like the flu".^[15]

The Rumaila Operating Organisation (ROO) continues to reduce gas flaring from its operated facilities at Rumaila. This reduced by a further 20% during 2022 – contributing to a reduction of more than 65% over the past seven years.^[16]

^ Beydoun, Ziad (1988). The Middle East: Regional Geology and Petroleum Resources. Beaconsfield: Scientific Press Ltd. p. 179. ISBN 090136021X.
^ Master Sgt. David Bennett (2010-06-12). "Delegation sees Iraq oil field up close". US Army. Retrieved 2010-06-24.
^ Iraq Petroleum Handbook. London: IPC. 1948. p. 141.
^ Vassiliou, Marius (2009). Historical Dictionary of the Petroleum Industry. Plymouth, UK: Scarecrow Press, Inc. p. 272. ISBN 9780810859937.
^ Nairn, Alsharan, A.E.M., A.S. (2003). Sedimentary Basins and Petroleum Geology of the Middle East (2nd ed.). Amsterdam: Elsevier. p. 471. ISBN 0444824650.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ "Iraq – Rumaila Oil Field (HVO IRQ-10)". ukti.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 21 May 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
^ "Iraq increases oil reserves by 24%". BBC. 4 October 2010. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
^ "Iraq Lifts Oil Reserves Estimate to 143 Billion Barrels, Overtakes Iran". Bloomberg. 4 October 2010. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
^ "IBBC Members Profile – BP". We Build Iraq. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
^ Christopher Helman (2010-01-21). "The World's Biggest Oil Reserves. Chances are your energy needs are going to flow from one of these 10 fields in the future". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2013-01-24. Retrieved 2010-06-24.
^ Wolfe-Hunnicut, Brandon Roy (2011). The End of the Concessionary Regime: Oil and American Power in Iraq, 1958–1972. Ph.D dissertation: Stanford University. p. 70.
^ Shwadran, Benjamin "Middle East Oil: Issues and Problems", Schenkman Publishing, 1977.
^ Thomas C. Hayes, Confrontation in the Gulf's ; The Oilfield Lying Below the Iraq-Kuwait Dispute, The New York Times, September 3, 1990
^ J. Murdico, Suzanne (2003). The Gulf War : War and Conflict in the Middle East. The Rosen Publishing Group. pp. 13, 68. ISBN 9780823945511.
^ Cite error: The named reference BBC1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ "bp responds to BBC story on Rumaila oilfield". bp. 16 February 2023.

[1] Beydoun, Ziad (1988). The Middle East: Regional Geology and Petroleum Resources. Beaconsfield: Scientific Press Ltd. p. 179. ISBN 090136021X.

[mil-2] Master Sgt. David Bennett (2010-06-12). "Delegation sees Iraq oil field up close". US Army. Retrieved 2010-06-24.

[:0-3] Iraq Petroleum Handbook. London: IPC. 1948. p. 141.

[4] Vassiliou, Marius (2009). Historical Dictionary of the Petroleum Industry. Plymouth, UK: Scarecrow Press, Inc. p. 272. ISBN 9780810859937.

[:1-5] Nairn, Alsharan, A.E.M., A.S. (2003). Sedimentary Basins and Petroleum Geology of the Middle East (2nd ed.). Amsterdam: Elsevier. p. 471. ISBN 0444824650.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[GT-DEX-2012-83-6] "Iraq – Rumaila Oil Field (HVO IRQ-10)". ukti.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 21 May 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2012.

[GT-DEX-2010-65-7] "Iraq increases oil reserves by 24%". BBC. 4 October 2010. Retrieved 22 August 2012.

[GT-DEX-2010-66-8] "Iraq Lifts Oil Reserves Estimate to 143 Billion Barrels, Overtakes Iran". Bloomberg. 4 October 2010. Retrieved 22 August 2012.

[9] "IBBC Members Profile – BP". We Build Iraq. Retrieved 22 September 2016.

[Forbes-10] Christopher Helman (2010-01-21). "The World's Biggest Oil Reserves. Chances are your energy needs are going to flow from one of these 10 fields in the future". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2013-01-24. Retrieved 2010-06-24.

[11] Wolfe-Hunnicut, Brandon Roy (2011). The End of the Concessionary Regime: Oil and American Power in Iraq, 1958–1972. Ph.D dissertation: Stanford University. p. 70.

[12] Shwadran, Benjamin "Middle East Oil: Issues and Problems", Schenkman Publishing, 1977.

[GT-DEX-1990-01-13] Thomas C. Hayes, Confrontation in the Gulf's ; The Oilfield Lying Below the Iraq-Kuwait Dispute, The New York Times, September 3, 1990

[GT-DEX-1990-02-14] J. Murdico, Suzanne (2003). The Gulf War : War and Conflict in the Middle East. The Rosen Publishing Group. pp. 13, 68. ISBN 9780823945511.

[BBC1-15] Cite error: The named reference BBC1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[16] "bp responds to BBC story on Rumaila oilfield". bp. 16 February 2023.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]