State-owned PetroChina announced Thursday its acquisition of a 25% stake in the West Qurna 1 block in southern Iraq from ExxonMobil.
In a brief statement, PetroChina said it "makes formal delivery ... for the acquisition" in the technical service contract for West Qurna 1.
The deal had been announced on Wednesday by Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Hussain al-Shahristani after he met with PetroChina Iraq President Wang Shali.
"The entry into this WQ1 project will be beneficial for PetroChina to achieve synergies with its other projects in Iraq and can help the company to develop a larger and stronger presence in the upstream operations in the Middle East," PetroChina said.
It would also help the company initiate strategic cooperation with other international oil companies in "high-end oil markets."
The sale will reduce ExxonMobil's stake to 35%. Financial terms were not disclosed.
This will further strengthen PetroChina's position in Iraq, where it already has substantial assets.
The company has a technical services contract with Baghdad for the Rumaila field alongside oil major BP and partners Malaysian state-owned Petronas and France's Total in the Halfaya project. PetroChina is also the sole operator of the Al-Ahdab field.
