Oil majors still taking to Iraq

BASRA, Iraq, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- Major energy players expressed interest in working with Baghdad to tap vast oil riches in the country despite concerns over violence, officials say.

Iraq is bracing for its second round of oil auctions during bidding set to take place Friday and Saturday.

There are 10 groups of oil and gas fields on the auction block. Included in the next round is the second phase of the West Qurna field, which holds as much as 13 billion barrels of oil.

Iraq held its first round of auctions in June, though several major players stayed away citing the government terms of the contracts and security concerns.

BP and China National Petroleum Co. was the only consortium to win a contract in June for the giant Rumaila field.

A string of coordinated attacks, meanwhile, killed more than 100 people in Baghdad on Tuesday. In the south, however, a delegation for U.S. supermajor Chevron met representatives from Basra to discuss work in the oil-rich port region, the Voices of Iraq news agency reports.

"The talks tackled the available investment opportunities regarding the oil sector in the province which is considered one of the richest countries of this fortune in the world," said Haidar Ali Fadel, a representative from the Basra Investment Commission.

The BIC official said he was ready to help Chevron gain a foothold in Basra.

Baghdad aims to triple its oil production to 7 million barrels per day with the developments from the next round of bidding.