(EnergyAsia, March 1 2011, Tuesday) — Fresh from raising the country’s estimated total oil reserves to 143 billion barrels, the Iraqi government said it plans to auction off 12 oil and gas exploration sites block this year and raise the country’s energy production at the same time.

The Oil Ministry said it also plans to prequalify international companies that did not win bids in its previous three auctions.

Ministry spokesman Assem Jihad said the government is hoping to complete the next auction this year, making it the country’s fourth since mid-2009.

Iraq now exports around 80% of its current 2.5 million b/d of oil production. As a result of previous auctions of 15 blocks that led to the signing of 11 contracts with international firms, Iraq expects to substantially boost its oil output and exports in coming years.

The country is also seeking to boost its gas output as well as expand gas-fired power generation capacity which is now just half its meet its power requirements of around 13,000 megawatts.

International firms have pledged to sharply raise Iraq’s oil production, with some predicting it could rise to eight million b/d by 2018, although this seems somewhat optimistic.

The Oil Ministry expects output from three major fields being developed to rise by almost 500,000 b/d to three million b/d by end-2011.

BP is expected to boost production at the Rumaila field to 1.3 million b/d from 1.275 million b/d while ExxonMobil Corp will soon raise its West Qurna-1 production by 50,000 b/d to 280,000 b/d, and Italy’s Eni S.p.A will boost production at Zubair from 270,000 b/d to 300,000 b/d.

The country faces challenges along the way including continuing security threats, unreliable power supplies and water shortages as some fields require water-injection techniques to goose production.