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Turning a battlefield back to an oilfield

The giant Majnoon oilfield in southern Iraq is slowly returning to significant production. Since 2010, Shell has been the operator responsible for restoring its output, which contributes to Iraq’s economic recovery. But after many years of war, unexploded mines, bombs and grenades still litter parts of the field. Using a new approach, Shell is clearing these munitions so that Majnoon’s rich energy resources can be tapped safely.

Searching for buried explosives across a landmass of almost 1,000 square kilometres (386 square miles) is part of a day’s work for Ken Portanger, who heads Shell’s explosive removal team at the huge Majnoon oil field in Iraq. The unexploded mines, grenades, missiles and other deadly munitions scattered there are a stark reminder of the field’s turbulent past.

Majnoon was a battle site during the Iran-Iraq war, leaving a scarred landscape that continues to exact a toll on neighbouring communities through injuries and death. When Shell started work on the Majnoon field development project in 2010, one of the first challenges was to start clearing leftover munitions.

“Majnoon is one of the world’s most heavily contaminated areas in terms of explosive remnants of war,” says Ken. He and his team of 250 highly trained workers are the only explosives removal unit in Shell.

The explosives range from small mines to 500-kilogram (1,100-pound) air-dropped bombs that have “ploughed in” up to six metres (20 feet) below ground level. These explosives are a major obstacle to building camps, facilities, pipelines, well infrastructure and roads – and they continue to be a daily hazard for the families who live nearby.

Taking a new approach

Hundreds of red flags mark possible explosives creating a “poppy field” effect

Highly trained workers search for buried munitions using handheld detection equipment

Early efforts to locate munitions used handheld mine detection equipment. As some explosive remnants contain little metal, the detection units also picked up other small pieces of shrapnel lodged throughout the field. All had to be marked, dug up and safely dealt with. This created the well-known “poppy field” picture of Majnoon, where hundreds of red flags mark possible explosives.

To avoid this, Shell developed a new approach. The team introduced the use of heavily armoured bulldozers and loaders adapted for the project to meet NATO specifications, and certified by third-party specialists through blast-testing. In the areas around drilling sites and designated access tracks throughout Majnoon, these vehicles are now used to excavate and sift a 30-centimetre (12-inch) layer of soil to remove any explosives. Almost all the unexploded munitions at Majnoon lie within 30 centimetres of the surface.

This approach has so far cleared 12 square kilometres (four square miles) of the Majnoon field, allowing more rapid access to oil production facilities. Shell’s skilled explosives removal team has achieved this without incident. It now provides training, assessment, project management and supervision to Iraqi de-mining authorities.

Shell is the operator of Majnoon with a 45% interest, with Petronas (30%) and Iraq’s Missan Oil Company (25%) holding the rest.