Turning the taps on: in Iraq
Iraq sets London date for suitors
Iraq's Oil Minister Hussain Shahristani will meet companies bidding for long-term oil and gas service contracts in London next month to discuss details of the fields on offer, as well as planned contract terms, the ministry said.
"The oil minister will meet representatives from international oil companies in London on 13 October to offer all the information they need to develop the oil and gas fields announced in the first bidding round," ministry spokesman Asim Jihad told Reuters.
The 41 companies which pre-qualified to vie for the contracts have all been invited to the meeting with Shahristani.
"The oil ministry will unveil the legal framework and conditions for signing service contracts by qualified oil companies," Jihad said.
Iraq opened its giant oil and gas fields to foreign companies on 30 June, announcing long-term development contracts with a view to raising oil output by a combined 1.5 million barrels per day at those fields. Iraq wants to raise total oil output to 4.5 million bpd by 2013, from around the current 2.5 million bpd.
Oilfields listed in the first bidding round were Rumaila, Kirkuk, Zubair, West Qurna Phase 1, Bai Hassan and Maysan - which comprises the Bazargan, Abu Gharab and Fakka fields.
Two gas fields, Akkas and Mansuriyah, are also on offer.
Baghdad has said it wants to sign the deals by the middle of nest year.
It plans to announce a second bidding round for different fields by the end of the year.
Iraq needs huge amounts of investment to boost oil output and rebuild itself after years of sanctions and war.
It had planned to hold an oil and gas conference at Baghdad international airport in October to try to sell the country's energy potential to foreign producers.
Organisers postponed that event until 5 December because some of the facilities would not be ready.