ExxonMobil—the second largest oil and fuel firm by market cap and fourth largest by income—is engaged in a cost-cutting restructuring. Nevertheless, the modifications, together with many layoffs, aren’t holding it from making a giant guess within the Center East.
The corporate has inked an settlement to develop the supergiant oil subject Majnoon in Iraq. The identify is apt, given the sphere’s dimension. In Arabic, Majnoon means loopy, mad, or insane—an ideal description for the estimated 38 billion barrels of oil it comprises.
Greatest oilfields worldwide by reserves:
- Ghawar Subject, Saudi Arabia: 70 bpd
- Burgan Oil Subject, Kuwait: 66+ bpd
- Gachsaran Subject, Iran: 66 bpd
- Bolivar Coastal Subject, Venezuela: 30 bpd
- Safaniya Oil Subject, Saudi Arabia: 30 bpd.
Supply: Worldwide Recruitment. Ghawar estimate: EIA.
Majnoon is not the most important oilfield on the planet—that honor goes to Saudi Arabia’s Ghawar Subject, which had over 70 billion barrels of proved reserves in 2013, in accordance with the EIA. Nonetheless, it is huge sufficient to put it within the supergiant class, an unique membership comprising fewer than 40 fields out of over 50,000 oilfields worldwide.
The deal might be a needle-mover, however nothing is ready in stone. The sector has been mired with setbacks for years due to political instability and a revolving door of improvement companions.
Majnoon: a perennial Center East underperformer
Regardless of the scale of its reserves, Majnoon manufacturing is tepid at an estimated 200,000 to 240,000 barrels per day (bpd). That pales in comparison with Ghawar, which produces 4 million bpd, or the fields within the Permian Basin, a large formation largely in Texas, which produces 6.3 million bpd.
ExxonMobil will assist develop the Majnoon oil subject in Iraq.
HUSSEIN FALEH/Getty Photos
Majnoon’s lackluster manufacturing is generally as a result of selections of the Group of the Petroleum Exporting Nations (OPEC) and instability.
Iraq is certainly one of 5 nations that based OPEC, a company consisting of 12 oil-producing member corporations that work in live performance to handle manufacturing and affect oil costs.
Till lately, OPEC tapped the brakes on how a lot oil it produced to extend oil costs. These days, nevertheless, it is reversed course, easing restrictions to spice up manufacturing and ostensibly stress U.S. shale corporations, which have turn into main gamers on the planet market.
Majnoon manufacturing hasn’t been restricted solely by OPEC, although. It is also been hampered by a rotating listing of improvement companions, together with Royal Dutch Shell, which withdrew from its deal in 2017 over its profit-share with Iraq’s authorities.
When Shell made its deal to develop Majnoon in 2009, it focused manufacturing of 1.8 million bpd, a bridge that, finally, proved means too optimistic.
Majnoon’s lackluster manufacturing is because of a historical past of battle and underinvestment, in addition to growing older, insufficient infrastructure, and safety dangers.
ExxonMobil makes main play in Center East
But, ExxonMobil (XOM) is undaunted.
It hasn’t but stated what its goal manufacturing could also be, however the deal introduced by the Iraqi authorities means that ExxonMobil is not afraid to provide its greatest shot at overcoming the challenges.
Prime oil-producing nations and proportion of world whole:
- United States: 21.9 mbpd; 22% of world whole
- Saudi Arabia: 11.13 mbpd; 11%
- Russia: 10.75 mbpd; 11%
- Canada: 5.76 mbpd; 6%
- China: 5.26 mbpd; 5%
- Iraq: 4.42 mbpd; 4%
Supply: EIA, 2023 information.
In accordance with the Iraqi Oil Ministry, ExxonMobil has signed a preliminary settlement that features improvement and infrastructure funding, together with a storage take care of Iraq’s state oil firm (SOMO) to serve Asia by way of a facility in Singapore.
The transfer suggests Iraq is raring to welcome further offers with Western oil and fuel corporations.
“All doors are open for major international companies to develop the oil sector,” said Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani at the signing ceremony.
ExxonMobil was among the first Western oil & gas majors to return to Iraq after the war, beginning in 2010. However, it exited the country entirely in 2023 when it sold its stake in the West Qurna-1 project to Indonesia’s Pertamina and Iraqi state-owned Basrah Oil.
ExxonMobil’s deal follows other agreements this year between Iraq and supermajors.
BP cut a deal in February to redevelop fields in the Kirkuk region and Chevron signed a preliminary agreement in August to develop production in Nasiriya and other areas.
Iraq’s reserves make it a major player in the global oil market, and the government has plans to increase production from 4 million bpd to 6 million bpd by 2029.
ExxonMobil’s deal for Majnoon is non-binding and details so far are scarce. What we do know is that it will be a profit-sharing deal with Iraq, and that if successful, it could represent a new source of revenue and profit at a time when lower crude oil prices are denting ExxonMobil’s top and bottom lines.
Brent crude oil prices have slipped 11.4% year-to-date in 2025, contributing to ExxonMobil reporting a 12% decline in second-quarter revenue to $81.5 billion and a 23% dip in earnings per share to $1.64.
In response, ExxonMobil revealed a cost-cutting plan to reduce its workforce by 3% and consolidating offices in Canada and the EU.
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