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Iraq announces huge oil find near Saudi border as Hormuz crisis bites

EuroNews · · 474 words · By Chaima Chihi
open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.euronews.com/business/2026/05/08/iraq-announces-huge-oil-find-near-s…

fact_checkFact-Check Results

14 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

check_circle Corroborated 8
schedule Pending 4
help Insufficient Evidence 2
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“Iraq has the fifth largest proven oil reserves in the world, estimated at 145 billion barrels”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources, including Türkiye Today and a web search result, confirm Iraq has the world's fifth-largest proven oil reserves estimated at 145 billion barrels.
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web search NEUTRAL — Map of countries with proven oil reserves – according to US EIA (start of 2017). Venezuela and Middle Eastern countries are estimated in 2024 to have the largest proven oil reserves.[1][new archival l…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_proven_oi…
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web search NEUTRAL — The Iraqi government intends to boost its oil output from the current four million barrels per day to six million barrels per day by 2029. To reach this goal, the country is establishing several proje…
https://www.iraqinews.com/iraq/iraq-possesses-over-145-billi…
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web search NEUTRAL — Iraq says oil operations have largely stopped due to war.The country already holds the world’s fifth-largest proven oil reserves at 145 billion barrels, accounting for 17% of the Middle East’s total a…
https://www.turkiyetoday.com/business/iraq-announces-major-8…
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“representing about 17% of total Middle Eastern reserves and around 9% of global reserves, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA)”
CORROBORATED
The claim that Iraq's reserves account for 17% of Middle Eastern reserves and around 8-9% of global reserves is supported by Türkiye Today and the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) profiles.
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web search NEUTRAL — Iraq (Federal Iraq and Kurdistan Regional Government) was the second-highest crude oil producer in OPEC after Saudi Arabia and the seventh-highest total petroleum liquids producer in the world in 2024…
https://www.eia.gov/international/content/analysis/countries…
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web search NEUTRAL — Iraq (Federal Iraq and Kurdistan Regional Government) is the second-largest crude oil producer in OPEC after Saudi Arabia and the sixth-largest total petroleum liquids producer in the world. 1 It ...
https://www.eurasiareview.com/02032024-iraq-energy-profile-s…
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web search NEUTRAL — Iraq (Federal Iraq and Kurdistan Regional Government) is the second-largest crude oil producer in OPEC after Saudi Arabia and the sixth-largest total petroleum liquids producer in the world. 1 It hold…
https://www.eia.gov/international/overview/country/IRQ
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“The Iraqi Ministry of Oil has announced the discovery of a large oil field in the southern province of Najaf, near the border with Saudi Arabia.”
CORROBORATED
The discovery of a supergiant oil field in Najaf province near the Saudi border was reported by both Rudaw.net and other news sources citing the Iraqi Oil Ministry.
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web search NEUTRAL — Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani said that Iraq is re-evaluating its estimate of proven oil reserves, and expects to revise them upwards. A major challenge to Iraq's development of the oil se…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum_industry_in_Iraq
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web search NEUTRAL — ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A new supergiant oilfield has been discovered in Iraq’s southern Najaf province near the border with Saudi Arabia, Baghdad’s oil ministry reported on Wednesday, noting that o…
https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/060520263
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web search NEUTRAL — Iraq’s Oil Ministry announced Wednesday the discovery of a major oilfield in the country’s southern Najaf province near the Saudi border, with one exploration block estimated to contain more than 8.8 …
https://www.turkiyetoday.com/business/iraq-announces-major-8…
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“initial estimates indicate that one of the exploration patches contains reserves exceeding 8.8 billion barrels of crude oil.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources (MSN, Rudaw, and others) confirm that initial estimates for one of the exploration patches exceed 8.8 billion barrels of crude oil.
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web search NEUTRAL — The oil field, discovered by China-based Zhenhua Oil, has estimated reserves of 8.83 billion barrels and a daily production rate of 3,248 barrels of light crude oil.
https://www.iraqinews.com/iraq/iraq-discovers-new-oil-well-w…
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web search NEUTRAL — Initial results from the Shams-11 exploratory well indicate estimated reserves of 8.84 billion barrels, with a production rate of around 3,248 barrels per day of light crude oil. Exploration and drill…
https://globalflowcontrol.com/newsroom/iraq-oil-field-discov…
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web search NEUTRAL — The discovery is considered one of the most important in the Iraqi energy sector in recent years, as initial estimates indicate that one of the exploration patches contains reserves exceeding 8.8 ...
https://www.msn.com/en-za/news/other/iraq-announces-huge-oil…
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“The Qurnain block is located in southwestern Iraq in Najaf province, about 180 kilometres from Baghdad, along the Iraqi-Saudi border.”
CORROBORATED
The location of the Qurnain block in southwestern Iraq, Najaf province, along the Saudi border is confirmed by Rudaw.net and other news reports.
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web search NEUTRAL — Interactive map of Najaf. Najaf is located in Iraq.Annually, it oversees the transit of over 3 million passengers, predominantly pilgrims visiting the holy sites in Najaf. It is situated in the easter…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Najaf
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web search NEUTRAL — “The al-Qarnain block is the first exploration block in which an oil discovery has been recorded,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that it is “located in southwestern Iraq within the administ…
https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/060520263
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web search NEUTRAL — The ministry stated that the Qarnain block marked the first confirmed oil discovery in the exploration area, which spans nearly 8,773 square kilometers (94.4 billion square feet) in southwestern Iraq …
https://www.turkiyetoday.com/business/iraq-announces-major-8…
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“covering an area of 8,773 square kilometres”
CORROBORATED
The specific area of 8,773 square kilometres for the Qurnain block is cited by 'The National' and other industry news sources.
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web search NEUTRAL — The square kilometre (red square) compared to other areas, including a square mile (the entire yellow square).The square kilometre (square kilometer in American spelling; symbol: km2) is a multiple of…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Square_kilometre
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web search NEUTRAL — The Qurnain block covers 8,773 square kilometres and is considered one of the country’s most promising exploration areas.
https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2026/05/07/iraq-an…
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web search NEUTRAL — The Qurnain block covers an area of 8,773 km² in Najaf province, adjacent to the Iraqi-Saudi border. Key milestones in its development include
https://dinardetectives.com/new-oil-discovery-at-qurnain-exp…
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“The contract to develop, explore and produce oil from it was signed on 17 October 2024.”
CORROBORATED
Iraq Business News specifically reports that the exploration, development, and production contract was signed on October 17, 2024.
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web search NEUTRAL — An exploration, development, and production contract signed on 17th October 2024 between Midland Oil Company (MdOC) and North Petroleum International (NPI), a wholly owned subsidiary of Zhenhua Oil (E…
https://www.iraq-businessnews.com/2026/05/07/new-oil-discove…
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web search NEUTRAL — A Chinese company on Thursday signed an agreement with Iraq for exploration and development of oilfields in a sprawling border area close to Saudi Arabia. Zhenhua Oil will carry out 3-D seismic survey…
https://www.zawya.com/en/projects/oil-and-gas/chinese-firm-t…
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web search NEUTRAL — Baghdad: The Ministry of Oil announced the signing of a contract for a two-dimensional seismic survey of the "Al-Qarnain" exploration block. In a statement, Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Affairs, M…
https://www.iraqnewsgazette.com/ministry-of-oil-a-contract-f…
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“drilling operations at the Shams-11 exploration well showed the presence of light crude oil, with an initial production capacity of 3,248 barrels per day.”
CORROBORATED
Two separate web search results confirm that the Shams-11 exploration well showed light crude oil with a production capacity of 3,248 barrels per day.
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web search NEUTRAL — Shams Charania (/ ˈʃɑːmz / SHAHMZ; born April 1, 1994) is an American sports reporter for ESPN, where he covers the National Basketball Association. He previously worked for The Athletic, Stadium, and…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shams_Charania
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web search NEUTRAL — Follow the ESPN contributor Shams Charania for the latest breaking sports news.
https://www.espn.com/contributor/shams-charania
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web search NEUTRAL — Aug 15, 2010 · Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) - Posts - ESPN Senior NBA Insider | X (formerly Twitter)
https://x.com/ShamsCharania
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“ZhenHua, through its subsidiary Qurnain Petroleum Limited, is the main operator of exploratory drilling and seismic survey operations in partnership with the Iraqi side.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results to confirm the specific role of ZhenHua's subsidiary Qurnain Petroleum Limited as the main operator.
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“Baghdad is working to accelerate a strategic project to build a pipeline linking Basra province in the south with the city of Haditha in Anbar province near the Syrian border, with a planned export capacity of 2.5 million barrels per day.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding a pipeline project linking Basra to Haditha with a 2.5 million barrel capacity.
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“Before the escalation of regional tensions, Iraq produced about 4.5 million barrels of oil per day, making it the third largest producer in the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)”
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“exported about 3.5 million barrels per day, around 90 per cent of which passed through the Strait of Hormuz.”
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“Iraq's oil exports fell to 18.6 million barrels in March, generating revenues of $1.96 billion (€1.77bn)”
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“February, when Iraq exported more than 99 million barrels and earned $6.81 billion (€6.15bn).”
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info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.