Majnoon Island is an island in southern
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
near
Al-Qurnah
Al-Qurnah (Kurnah or Qurna, meaning connection/joint in Arabic) is a town in southern Iraq about 74 km northwest of Basra, that lies within the conglomeration of Nahairat. Qurna is located at the confluence point of the Tigris and Euphrates river ...
that is a center for oil production of the
Majnoon Oilfield. The area was built out of sand dunes and mud to create pathways for oil pipelines. It was the site of several large battles in the Iran-Iraq war.
The
Majnoon Oilfield was discovered in 1975 by
Braspetro (Petrobras of Brazil), Majnoon was found to be a part of Great Rumaila Triangle. Development work stopped in 1980 when Iraq's war with Iran broke out. Iran controlled the oilfield during the war, and it along with the other parts of Iraq, were looted and sabotaged. Before the
Gulf War
The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...
, roughly a sixth of Iraq's oil production, some , passed through the island. Production quickly recovered after the site was a center of fighting in the
Iran–Iraq War
The Iran–Iraq War was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. It began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for almost eight years, until the acceptance of United Nations Security Council ...
, particularly
Operation Kheibar
Operation Kheibar was an Iranian offensive in the Iran–Iraq War. It was part of the Battle of the Marshes.
Prelude
After the unsuccessful major offensive named Operation Dawn V aimed directly at Basra, Iran opened a front at the lakes of the ...
in 1984. However, following the imposition of
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
sanctions and the 2003
Iraq War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish)
, partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...
, production has presently reduced to .
In December 2009, the Iraqi government awarded a license to a joint venture from
Royal Dutch Shell
Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New Yo ...
and
Petronas
Petroliam Nasional Berhad (National Petroleum Limited), commonly known as Petronas, is a Malaysian oil and gas company. Established in 1974 and wholly owned by the Government of Malaysia, the corporation is vested with all oil and gas reso ...
to take over operations at
Majnoon Oilfield, and triple production from the estimated reserve of at a fee rate of $1.39/barrel. The joint venture company is 25% held by the
Iraqi Ministry of Oil, 45% by Shell and 30% by Petronas. Shell exited the project in 2013.
In February 1984, Iraqi mustard gas attacks on Majnoon Island killed approximately 2,500 Iranians after the Iranians captured the island.
References
Bibliography
''The Longest War'', by Dilip Hiro, Routledge Chapman & Hall, Inc., 1991. (pg. 103)
Shell plc
Petronas
Islands of Iraq
{{Iraq-geo-stub