BHP on verge of Iraq oilfield deal
BHP Billiton's 13-year quest to gain access to the lucrative Halfayah oilfield
in Iraq could be realised within a few weeks, giving the Australian giant a
head start to compete for more deals in the country.
Thamir Ghadhban, the energy adviser to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki
has said the government expects to sign a technical support contract
covering the Halfayah field worth about $500 million by early next month,
The Sydney Morning Herald reported today.
Halfayah is part of the Missan fields in southern Iraq, the subject to a joint
venture between BHP and Shell after a former partner, Tigris Petroleum, was
dropped from the agreement as a result of the findings of the Cole inquiry
into the UN oil-for-food scandal.
BHP first became interested in Halfayah - a field containing around 3 billion
barrels of oil in -1995.
The technical support deal would be a two-year agreement, with an option for a
one-year extension, which would reward BHP and Shell for increasing output
in the Missan area by about 100,000 barrels pe day. Ghadhban said
representatives from companies including Shell met Iraqi officials in Jordan
last week to finalise details of several contracts, including whether the
payment would be in cash or oil.
The technical agreement could give BHP and Shell a head start to compete for
other oil extraction and service contracts in Iraq.
The Iraqi government was expected to announce a list of companies qualified to
respond to initial tenders to develop giant oilfields during the second
quarter of this year.
It is believed BHP wants to take part in the Missan technical agreement to
give it a better understanding of the geology of the area and to establish
relationships that would make it a preferred partner for Iraq's national oil
company in the future.
26 March 2008 02:27 GMT
| last updated:
26 March 2008 08:22 GMT
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