Iraq has announced a major new oil and gas discovery in the Qurnain exploration block in the country’s southwest.
The discovery is the first successful oil find from the blocks awarded under Iraq’s fifth supplementary and sixth licensing rounds.
The breakthrough came after drilling at the Shams-11 exploratory well, which began in January 2026. By February 24, teams confirmed a hydrocarbon accumulation estimated at 8.835 billion cubic feet in the MUS formation, located at depths between 1,916 and 1,965 meters.
Initial production tests showed output of about 3,248 barrels of light crude oil per day.
The Qurnain block is located in Najaf province near the Iraqi-Saudi border and spans roughly 8,773 square kilometers.
Several important development stages have already been completed, including:
- Signing the exploration and production contract in October 2024
- Activating the contract in November 2024
- Transferring operations to Qurnain Petroleum Limited in May 2025
- Completing a large 2D seismic survey covering 2,850 kilometers in March 2026
The project involves Zhenhua Oil through its subsidiary North Petroleum International.
During the meeting, Iraqi Oil Minister Hayan Abdul-Ghani al-Sawad called for speeding up work to maintain oil production levels and improve the use of natural gas resources.
Officials also reviewed efforts by EBS Petroleum to increase production at the East Baghdad Oil Field.
