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BAGHDAD, June 30 (Reuters) - Iraq will auction off eight giant oil and gas fields on Tuesday in its first major tender since 2003, giving oil firms a foothold in a country that may hold some of the world's largest untapped energy reserves.
Private jets flew representatives from leading global firms like Exxon Mobil and Total into Baghdad, a city still ringed by blast walls and gripped by violence, to place their bids for the 20-year development contracts.
The companies are wading into a morass of controversy surrounding the deals, which some Iraqi lawmakers condemn as illegal and which even some within the state-run oil industry have criticised for selling Iraq's vast oil wealth short.
For oil firms, the allure may be more about getting a foothold in Iraq's oil sector than about the amount of money they expect to make in these deals, which are fixed-fee service contracts rather than the production-sharing deals they prefer
Six oil fields and two gas fields are available in the first big oil tender in Iraq since the invasion of 2003.
The consortium took the contract for the 17 billion barrel Rumaila field after Exxon Mobil rejected the oil ministry's maximum service contract.
An undeveloped gas field has also been offered but there were no bidders.
The oil ministry is offering 20-year service contracts to extract oil or gas from the fields.
There are 31 oil companies that have been approved as potential bidders.
BAGHDAD -- Next week, Iraqi officials plan a welcome-back party for Big Oil.
The government intends to auction off oil contracts to foreign companies for the first time since Iraq nationalized its oil industry more than three decades ago. If all goes according to plan in the first round, foreign oil companies will move in to help Iraq revive production at six developed fields that have suffered from years of war and neglect.
But Iraq's fractious politics have complicated the process. Some lawmakers and oil officials have called for a delay of the auction. The man behind the plan, Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani, appeared before parliament on Tuesday, where some lawmakers questioned the legality of the proposed contracts and what they called favorable terms for the foreign companies. But the auction appears to have sufficient political support to go ahead on schedule, and Mr. Shahristani and other government officials vowed to plow ahead.
Last edited by Finn_Jarber; 06-30-2009 at 05:36 AM..
BAGHDAD, June 30 (Reuters) - Iraq will auction off eight giant oil and gas fields on Tuesday in its first major tender since 2003, giving oil firms a foothold in a country that may hold some of the world's largest untapped energy reserves.
Private jets flew representatives from leading global firms like Exxon Mobil and Total into Baghdad, a city still ringed by blast walls and gripped by violence, to place their bids for the 20-year development contracts.
The companies are wading into a morass of controversy surrounding the deals, which some Iraqi lawmakers condemn as illegal and which even some within the state-run oil industry have criticised for selling Iraq's vast oil wealth short.
For oil firms, the allure may be more about getting a foothold in Iraq's oil sector than about the amount of money they expect to make in these deals, which are fixed-fee service contracts rather than the production-sharing deals they prefer
Six oil fields and two gas fields are available in the first big oil tender in Iraq since the invasion of 2003.
The consortium took the contract for the 17 billion barrel Rumaila field after Exxon Mobil rejected the oil ministry's maximum service contract.
An undeveloped gas field has also been offered but there were no bidders.
The oil ministry is offering 20-year service contracts to extract oil or gas from the fields.
There are 31 oil companies that have been approved as potential bidders.
BAGHDAD -- Next week, Iraqi officials plan a welcome-back party for Big Oil.
The government intends to auction off oil contracts to foreign companies for the first time since Iraq nationalized its oil industry more than three decades ago. If all goes according to plan in the first round, foreign oil companies will move in to help Iraq revive production at six developed fields that have suffered from years of war and neglect.
But Iraq's fractious politics have complicated the process. Some lawmakers and oil officials have called for a delay of the auction. The man behind the plan, Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani, appeared before parliament on Tuesday, where some lawmakers questioned the legality of the proposed contracts and what they called favorable terms for the foreign companies. But the auction appears to have sufficient political support to go ahead on schedule, and Mr. Shahristani and other government officials vowed to plow ahead.
How dare Iraq Lease what they own through a democratic process! Outrageous! They should do what Obama would do, nationalize them!
What a damn shame! For those of you that aren't aware, recomendation #63 of the Iraq Study Group was to engourage foreign direct investment in Iraqi's oil sector in spite of the fact that 63% of Iraqis want the oil to be under state control. If Bush really invade Iraq for democracy, and not for oil, he would have supported keeping the oil under state control because this is what the majority of Iraqis support. But hey, what do you expect from an oilman? But I do expect more out of Obama. He should urge Al-Maliki to respect the views of his constituents, because it's not good for our national interests to be viewed by the Iraqi majority as foreign occupiers that just want to take their oil.
No problem there. Who better to extract the oil than those companies who have been doing it successfully and efficiently for decades.
Yes, there is a problem. The majority of Iraqis don't want their oil to be privatized. If we really wanted a democratic Iraq, we would be urging Al-Maliki to respect the wishes of his constituents.
Yes, there is a problem. The majority of Iraqis don't want their oil to be privatized. If we really wanted a democratic Iraq, we would be urging Al-Maliki to respect the wishes of his constituents.
Yes and how do you know what the Iraq citizens want? I am sure you know so much more about what Iraqis want than their President.
Yes, there is a problem. The majority of Iraqis don't want their oil to be privatized. If we really wanted a democratic Iraq, we would be urging Al-Maliki to respect the wishes of his constituents.
Can you prove that 68% don't want to privatize it?
Yes, there is a problem. The majority of Iraqis don't want their oil to be privatized. If we really wanted a democratic Iraq, we would be urging Al-Maliki to respect the wishes of his constituents.
How do you know?
Seems the Iraqi government has the support it needs to implement this business opportunity.
You act like the Iraqi's will get nothing in return, like their oil and revenue will be stolen from them.
These big oil and energy corporations know how to run a project like this - they have been doing it around the world for decades. They will also be investing capital in these operations.
Yes and how do you know what the Iraq citizens want? I am sure you know so much more about what Iraqis want than their President.
Reading polls.
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