There was always something that did not look quite right about Lukoil’s recent announcement that it was going to withdraw from Iraq’s huge West Qurna 2 oil field, located 65 kilometers northwest of the southern port of Basra and with roughly 14 billion barrels of reserves in place. So it has proven, with the bland statement last week that Lukoil is, in fact, going to stay on in the role of lead developer on the supergiant site. OilPrice.com exclusively reveals what happened below. The recent development history for Lukoil in West Qurna 2 is essential to understanding its recent flip-flopping announcements. The key event that shapes what has happened most recently began in August 2017 when the Russian oil firm announced that it was to dramatically increase output at West Qurna 2. At that time, the West Qurna 2 field had been steadily producing around 400,000 barrels per day […]