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

EuroNews · 🇫🇷 public France · May 08, 2026 · 474 words · By Chaima Chihi

headphones Listen to the eFinder podcast briefing

Generate a natural audio summary of this story

Daily briefing

What to know about Iraq announces huge oil find near Saudi border as Hormuz crisis bites

Iraq has the fifth largest proven oil reserves in the world, estimated at 145 billion barrels, representing about 17% of total Middle Eastern reserves and around 9% of global reserves, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Claims checked 14

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center75%

Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Why it matters

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.

Common ground

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 billion barrels of crude oil.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: Iraq announces huge oil find near Saudi border as Hormuz crisis bites?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that February, when Iraq exported more than 99 million barrels and earned $6.81 billion (€6.15bn)?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.euronews.com/business/2026/05/08/iraq-announces-huge-oil-find-near-s…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 14 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 8

schedule Pending 4

help Insufficient Evidence 2

schedule

Claim 1: “February, when Iraq exported more than 99 million barrels and earned $6.81 billion (€6.15bn).”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 2: “exported about 3.5 million barrels per day, around 90 per cent of which passed through the Strait of Hormuz.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

check_circle

Claim 3: “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.

travel_explore

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

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Follow the ESPN contributor Shams Charania for the latest breaking sports news.
https://www.espn.com/contributor/shams-charania

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Aug 15, 2010 · Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) - Posts - ESPN Senior NBA Insider | X (formerly Twitter)
https://x.com/ShamsCharania

check_circle

Claim 4: “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.

travel_explore

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…

travel_explore

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…

travel_explore

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…

check_circle

Claim 5: “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.

travel_explore

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

travel_explore

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

travel_explore

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…

check_circle

Claim 6: “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.

travel_explore

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…

travel_explore

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…

travel_explore

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

check_circle

Claim 7: “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.

travel_explore

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

travel_explore

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…

travel_explore

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…

check_circle

Claim 8: “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.

travel_explore

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…

travel_explore

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…

travel_explore

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…

check_circle

Claim 9: “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.

travel_explore

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…

travel_explore

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…

travel_explore

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…

check_circle

Claim 10: “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.

travel_explore

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

travel_explore

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

travel_explore

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…

help

Claim 11: “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.

schedule

Claim 12: “Iraq's oil exports fell to 18.6 million barrels in March, generating revenues of $1.96 billion (€1.77bn)”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

help

Claim 13: “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.

schedule

Claim 14: “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)”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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.