Production - Foreign - Oil and Gas Production in Iraq during 1936

The principal event during 1936 was the sale of Mosul Oilfields, Ltd. to Mosul Holdings, Ltd., a British company with French and American participation, and the expansion of its wildcat activities to untested structures on its West Tigris concession. Mosul Holdings continued the exploration of its low-gravity Qaiyarah-Najmah-Jawan-Qasab field. The Iraq Petroleum Company's systematic exploration and exploitation of its Kirkuk field was continued on a scientific unitized basis. Pressures and gas-oil ratios remained satisfactory. All wells were produced by flowing. A stabilization plant large enough to supply the 4,000,000-ton pipe line to the Mediterranean was completed at Kirkuk about the close of the year and only sweet oil is now being exported. The Khanaqin Oil Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Co., Ltd., continued the normal exploitation of its Naft Khaneh oil field, refining and marketing through the Rafidain Oil Co., Ltd. for local Iraq market. This field lies partly on the Iraq side of the boundary and partly on the Iranian side, the latter portion being known as Naft-i-Shah. Only the Iraq side is considered in this paper. Slightly more than 30,000,000 bbl. of crude was produced in Iraq during 1936. The I.P.C. exported all crude sold outside of Iraq and showed an increase of about 2,500,000 bbl. over the preceding year. Crude production in Iraq for export in 1934 was 7,096,669 bbl.'; in 1935 it was 27,014,904 bbl. and in 1936 it was 29,521,053 barrels.