Gazprom Neft, operator of the Badra oilfield, Iraq, has reported the successful completion of well-testing at its BD4 appraisal well at the end of December, 2013. Potential production capacity was tested through the sequential testing of six drilled strata, followed by final testing of all pay horizons concurrently. A daily natural flow rate of 7,000 barrels of oil was recorded.

Testing continues at two other drilled wells within the same field. The year of 2014 will also see work to begin on the drilling of six production wells under the company’s contract with China’s ZPEC.

The infrastructure necessary to bring the field into commercial production in 2014 is also nearing completion. Work also continues on the construction of a 170,000 bpd central gathering facility: the first line of which, with a capacity of 60,000 bpd, will come on-stream in the near future. Preparations for the construction of a 1.5 million cubic meter annual capacity gas conversion plant are also underway and work to connect the field to Iraq’s main pipeline network is also nearing completion.

Vadim Yakovlev, First Deputy CEO of Gazprom Neft commented: “With well testing completed we are one step closer to beginning commercial production at the Badra field. Since the beginning of development – practically from scratch – just three years ago, a Gazprom Neft-led consortium has completed a major project in establishing all the facilities necessary for large-scale production at Badra, and this will begin as early as this year.”

The Badra oilfield is located in the Wasit Province, Eastern Iraq. Preliminary estimates indicate total oil in place at the Badra field to be in the order of three billion barrels. The contract for development of the field was signed with the Government of Iraq in January 2010, following completion of a competitive tender in December 2009 won by a consortium comprising Gazprom Neft, KOGAS (Korea), PETRONAS (Malaysia), and TPAO (Turkey).