BP To Up Iraq Rumaila Field Output By 100,000 B/D Early 2011 - Exec

By Hassan Hafidh Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES BAGHDAD (Dow Jones)--U.K. oil major BP PLC (BP), along with its partner China National Petroleum Corp., plans to increase production from Iraq's Rumaila oil field by more than 100,000 barrels a day at the beginning of next year, a BP executive said Sunday. "Initial production of the field will go up by 10% (at the) beginning of 2011," Michael Townshend, president of BP Iraq, told a two-day symposium held by the Iraqi oil ministry in Baghdad to discuss the co-ordination and implementation of the country's oil expansion plans. Two oil licensing auctions last year awarded 11 deals to international oil companies that promise to add nearly 10 million barrels a day of capacity to Iraq's existing 2.5 million barrels a day by 2017. The Rumaila field, with some 17 billion proven oil reserves, is currently producing 1.07 million barrels a day. The BP-led consortium has pledged to almost triple production at the field to 2.85 million barrels a day from 1.07 million barrels a day in six years. Under the terms of the deal, awarded by the country last year, BP holds a 38% stake in the venture, while CNPC has 37% and Iraq's state-run South Oil Co. the remaining 25%. The three contractors will receive a fixed fee of $2 for each additional barrel of oil produced from Rumaila. Rumaila has a potential production of 1 billion cubic feet of gas a day, Townshend said. -By Hassan Hafidh; Dow Jones Newswires; +962 799 831 831; hassan.hafidh@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 18, 2010 10:38 ET (14:38 GMT)