Ready to work: Iraq asks for clarification before awarding Nassiriya contract.
Iraq asks for Nassiriyah clarification
The Iraqi oil ministry has asked one company, out of three bidding for the Nassiriyah oil field in southern Iraq, to revise its offer before the ministry could award it the multi-billion-dollar deal, Iraq's deputy oil minister said today.
Italy's Eni SpA, Japan's Nippon Oil and Spain's Repsol YPF have submitted bids to develop the Nassiriyah oil field in the Dhi Qar region.
Ahmad Shammaa also said that one of the three companies was excluded because its offer did not match the time allocated by the ministry to develop the field.
The remaining two bids were still under consideration by the cabinet, the deputy oil minister told Dow Jones Newswires in an interview.
Iraqi oil officials familiar with the negotiations with the three companies have said that Repsol is out of the race.
Shammaa didn't specify which company has lost out, but did say that one bid out of the remaining two is better in terms of price.
He didn't name the company that submitted the best bid.
"We are in talks with the company in order to change some its conditions, especially concerning payment," he said.