ExxonMobil bids high for Rumaila prize

An Iraqi oil worker walks by at an oil field in the southern Rumaila area, 21 July 2007. Iraq started production from a well in the southern oilfields of Rumaila to increase the country's total production by 15-18 thousand barrels per day, said today, chief of the South Oil Company Jabbar Luaibi. AFP PHOTO/ESSAM AL-SUDANI

ESSAM AL-SUDANI

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By Anthea Pitt & news wires

 30 June 2009 07:08 GMT

US supermajor ExxonMobil and Malaysian state-run producer Petronas have put in the highest bid for the super giant Rumaila oilfield in Baghdad's first bid round since the 2003 US-led invasion.

A source in Baghdad told UpstreamOnline that UK supermajor BP and China National Petroleum Corporation also bid for the field, which has reserves of 17 billion barrels.

ExxonMobil and Petronas offered 3.1 million barrels per year over seven years, pegging production costs at $4.80 per barrel, the source said.

However, the Iraq's Oil Ministry delayed deciding between the two consortia, saying the offers exceeded the per barrel fee it was prepared to pay.

The auction is being run as a "closed envelope" round, with 33 international players vying for the six oilfields and two…

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