BAGHDAD: Iraq’s oil ministry said on Thursday it had started to take over operations of Majnoon oilfield from Royal Dutch Shell and planned to lift output in future.
The ministry said it had formed a management team to handle production after Shell exits the field by the end of June.
“The priority of the new management team is to cut the cost of producing a barrel (of crude) from Majnoon by 30 percent,” Oil Minister Jabar Al-Luaibi said in a statement.
Iraq plans to increase output from Majnoon to 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the “coming years,” the ministry said, without giving a precise timeline.
Production is now about 235,000 bpd, oil officials say.
A letter signed by the minister, dated August 23 and seen by Reuters, gave approval for the Anglo-Dutch firm to quit Majnoon, a major oilfield near Basra which started production in 2014.
Shell said it would focus its efforts on developing and expanding Basra Gas Company in Iraq after handing over operations of Majnoon to the Iraqi government.
Basra Gas Company is a joint venture between Shell, South Gas Company and Mitsubishi and the Petrochemical Project NEBRAS.
Chevron, Total and PetroChina may form a consortium to develop Iraq’s Majnoon oilfield, the minister said in Vienna in November.
Iraq oil ministry starts taking over Majnoon oilfield operations
Iraq oil ministry starts taking over Majnoon oilfield operations
Closing Bell: Saudi main index slips to close at 11,228
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index slipped on Sunday, lost 23.17 points, or 0.21 percent, to close at 11,228.64.
The total trading turnover of the benchmark index was SR2.99 billion ($797 million), as 170 of the stocks advanced and 82 retreated.
On the other hand, the Kingdom’s parallel market Nomu gained 449.38 points, or 1.90 percent, to close at 24,093.12. This comes as 43 of the stocks advanced while 27 retreated.
The MSCI Tadawul Index lost 6.07 points, or 0.40 percent, to close at 1,511.36.
The best-performing stock of the day was Obeikan Glass Co., whose share price surged 7.54 percent to SR27.66.
Other top performers included Alamar Foods Co., whose share price rose 6.80 percent to SR47.10, as well as Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co., whose share price climbed 6.79 percent to SR5.66.
Saudi Investment Bank recorded the steepest drop, falling 3.21 percent to SR13.56.
Jahez International Co. for Information System Technology also saw its share price fall 3.15 percent to SR13.55.
Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Co. declined 2.78 percent to SR7.34.
On the announcements front, Tanmiah Food Co. reported its annual financial results for the period ending Dec. 31. According to a Tadawul statement, the company recorded a net loss of SR18.8 million, compared with a net profit of SR95.8 million a year earlier.
The net loss was mainly due to ongoing market challenges that resulted in continued pricing pressures in fresh poultry, inflationary cost pressures, higher financing expenses, and depreciation and ramp-up costs from new facilities, partially offset by increased production volumes and cost-optimization initiatives.
Tanmiah Food Co. ended the session at SR58.20, up 3.72 percent.
United International Holding Co., also known as Tas’heel, announced its annual financial results for the period ending Dec. 31. A bourse filing showed the company recorded a net profit of SR273.64 million in 2025, up 23.05 percent from 2024, primarily driven by a 23.4 percent rise in revenues. The revenue growth helped lift gross profit by 23.7 percent.
Tas’heel ended the session at SR146.80, down 0.28 percent.
