CHINA National Petroleum Corp has begun operating the first phase of Iraq's Halfaya oil field at the weekend, 15 months ahead of schedule.

The field, with an initial output of 70,000 barrels a day, will have a production capacity of 5 million tons a year, or about 100,000 barrels a day in the first phase, CNPC said yesterday.

CNPC has also started preliminary work on the second phase of the Halfaya project, which will see the capacity double to 200,000 barrels a day, said CNPC, the parent of PetroChina.

In December 2009, a CNPC-led consortium, which includes France's Total and Malaysian state oil company Petronas, won the right to develop the Halfaya field in southern Iraq, which is estimated to hold 4.1 billion barrels of recoverable reserves. The consortium, 37.5 percent owned by CNPC, earns a service fee for every barrel produced under a 20-year concession.

CNPC said Halfaya is its largest overseas project as an operator.

CNPC is developing the Al-Ahdab and Rumaila fields in Iraq to help rebuild the economy.

Source:shanghaidaily.com