Reuters - Iraq has approved an investment budget of around $1.15 billion for 2021 to develop its southern giant Majnoon oilfield, an Iraqi oil executive said on Thursday.

Iraq plans to raise output from its Majnoon oilfield to 450,000 barrels per day (bpd) from a current 130,000 bpd in three years, Majnoon manager Dhiya Shakir told Reuters in an interview at the southern oilfield near Basra.

He said the focus following Iraq's commitment to curtail production in tandem with other OPEC+ producers is to increase output of light crude.

"Our strategy is to boost exports of light crude from Majnoon as its prices are higher than heavy crude," Shakir said.

As part of the plan to boost production, Schlumberger Ltd has completed half the work of drilling 40 oil wells under a contract awarded in 2018, Shakir said.

The state-run Iraqi Drilling Company will start drilling 40 wells in April, he said.

Officials are also said preparing to issue tenders for a water injection unit to boost reservoir pressure and help to flush oil to the surface, he said.

The bulk of Iraq’s oil is exported via southern terminals, which account for more than 95% of its state revenue.