Iraq oilfields contracts auction in November
Web posted at: 7/31/2009 9:4:43
Source ::: REUTERS
BAGHDAD: Iraq will hold an auction capping its second major bidding round for energy fields at the end of November, the Oil Ministry spokesman said yesterday. Spokesman Asim Jihad said no exact date had been set for the auction, which will give foreign firms a chance to compete for lucrative development contracts for 10 oilfields.
The auction follows a similar auction on June 30, which marked the first time foreign firms got a chance to gain a foothold in a country with the world’s third largest oil reserves, but which has largely been off-limits to them for decades. The two bidding rounds are the cornerstone of Oil Minister Hussain Al Shahristani’s plan to revive a struggling oil sector and boost output hovering around 2.5 million barrels per day, where it stood before the 2003 invasion to oust Saddam Hussein.
The June 30 auction, panned by many oil industry insiders for the ministry’s stiff payment terms, produced just one deal out of eight fields on offer, giving the giant Rumaila oilfield to BP and China National Petroleum Corp.
Jihad also said that a new acting director had been named to head the state-run South Oil Company after former director Fayad Al Nema was removed from his post this week. Nema triggered a firestorm ahead of the June auction when he came out against giving foreign firms a chance to develop fields already in production. “Dhiya Jaafar was the head of the southern operations commission of the South Oil Company and he became head of the company,” Jihad said. The government said Nema was removed for reasons related to Oil Ministry ‘restructuring’ and was given a different job.
http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Dis...0907319443.xml
Web posted at: 7/31/2009 9:4:43
Source ::: REUTERS
BAGHDAD: Iraq will hold an auction capping its second major bidding round for energy fields at the end of November, the Oil Ministry spokesman said yesterday. Spokesman Asim Jihad said no exact date had been set for the auction, which will give foreign firms a chance to compete for lucrative development contracts for 10 oilfields.
The auction follows a similar auction on June 30, which marked the first time foreign firms got a chance to gain a foothold in a country with the world’s third largest oil reserves, but which has largely been off-limits to them for decades. The two bidding rounds are the cornerstone of Oil Minister Hussain Al Shahristani’s plan to revive a struggling oil sector and boost output hovering around 2.5 million barrels per day, where it stood before the 2003 invasion to oust Saddam Hussein.
The June 30 auction, panned by many oil industry insiders for the ministry’s stiff payment terms, produced just one deal out of eight fields on offer, giving the giant Rumaila oilfield to BP and China National Petroleum Corp.
Jihad also said that a new acting director had been named to head the state-run South Oil Company after former director Fayad Al Nema was removed from his post this week. Nema triggered a firestorm ahead of the June auction when he came out against giving foreign firms a chance to develop fields already in production. “Dhiya Jaafar was the head of the southern operations commission of the South Oil Company and he became head of the company,” Jihad said. The government said Nema was removed for reasons related to Oil Ministry ‘restructuring’ and was given a different job.
http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Dis...0907319443.xml