"Exxon Mobil Transfers Operations in Oil Field in Iraq to PetroChina"

The Iraqi Oil Ministry's undersecretary for extraction, Bassim Mohammed, told Reuters on Monday that "the American energy company Exxon Mobil has officially handed over operations in the West Qurna 1 oil field in southern Iraq to PetroChina as the main contractor." Senior Iraqi oil officials met with executives from Exxon Mobil and PetroChina, as well as Basra Oil, on Monday at the West Qurna 1 field near Basra to mark Exxon's complete exit and the transfer of its operations to PetroChina. He stated in an interview at the field: "We are gathered today to bid farewell to Exxon Mobil while at the same time congratulating PetroChina on being the main contractor." PetroChina now holds the largest stake in the field after Exxon's departure. Last year, Iraq signed an agreement to acquire a 22.7% stake in Exxon Mobil’s West Qurna 1 by the state-owned Basra Oil Company, while the state-owned Indonesian company Pertamina purchased the remaining 10% of Exxon's stake to increase its share to 20%. Mohammed noted that "the final settlement reached recently between the Iraqi Oil Ministry and Exxon serves the interests of both parties."