MOSCOW, September 9. /ITAR-TASS/. Russia’s oil company Lukoil has started the loading of two tankers with the capacity of two million barrels each with oil from the West Qurna 2 field in Iraq, the company said in a release on Tuesday.

One of the tankers (Achilleas) will sail in the coming days to the Augusta port in Sicily where oil will be loaded for Lukoil’s ISAB oil refinery in Priolo, and the second tanker — Front Kathrine, will deliver oil to EU consumers.

The Sea Triumph tanker that left Basra on August 19 has successfully delivered the first batch of cost oil — a total of one million barrels, to the Italian port of Augusta. The main part of the first batch of oil was delivered for the ISAB refinery.

Thus, Lukoil has received about $500 million for the shipment as compensation for the costs associated with the West Qurna 2 development.

Lukoil receives cost oil under the service contract terms on account of compensation of the company costs within the implementation of the first phase of the West Qurna 2 field in Iraq.

According to previous ITAR-TASS reports, Lukoil hopes to recover the West Qurna 2 field project development costs within a year.