Iraqi Drilling Company Starts Major Maintenance on Zubair Oilfield Well

Maintenance operation on well ZB‑510

Iraq’s state‑owned Iraqi Drilling Company (IDC) launched a major maintenance operation on Thursday on well ZB‑510 in the Zubair oilfield, situated in the southern Basra province.

The field lies onshore in Iraq’s southern Basra province.

The company said in a statement that it used the IDC‑47 workover rig to resume repair work on the well after a suspension that lasted four months, according to the state‑run Iraqi News Agency (INA).

Workover operations are specialised technical procedures intended to meet the specific needs of a well. They focus on rehabilitating the well according to its technical condition and the approved programme, with the goal of returning it to operational status.

Recent drilling of a deviated well

In July, Iraq’s IDC finished drilling a new deviated oil well in the Zubair oilfield as part of the Ministry of Oil’s drive to raise output and improve operational efficiency.

The well was drilled to a depth of 3,846 metres with a 20‑degree inclination.

It forms part of a series of wells designed to keep production levels stable and to enhance the Zubair oilfield’s capabilities in the next development phase.

Reserves, gas recovery and field outlook

The Zubair oilfield holds officially estimated recoverable crude reserves of more than four billion barrels.

Unofficial assessments suggest that modern extraction techniques could push the recoverable volume to about five billion barrels.

As part of the Ministry of Oil’s effort to curb gas flaring and generate electricity, the field has achieved an associated‑gas recovery rate of 147 million cubic feet per day.

The field is located onshore in Iraq and is operated by Italy’s Eni.

Economic calculations indicate that production can continue until the field reaches its economic limit in 2047.

Production targets and current output

Eni and its partners are aiming to increase the oilfield’s output capacity to 700,000 barrels per day, while the government’s long‑term objective stands at 850,000 barrels per day.

At present, the Zubair oilfield has a daily output capacity of roughly 450,000 barrels, accounting for around nine percent of Iraq’s total oil production.

A photograph supplied by IDC shows the operations of the largest oil rig in Iraq, located within the Majnoon oilfield.