Mobile UPI  |   About UPI  |   UPI en Español  |   UPI Arabic  |   UPIU  |   My Account
Search:
Go

Iraq signs lucrative oil contracts

|
|
 
  
Published: Dec. 30, 2009 at 1:30 PM
Advertisement

BAGHDAD, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- International oil majors are gobbling up formal contracts with the Iraqi government to develop some of the country's largest oil fields.

Angolan state oil company Sonangol on Wednesday signed an initial agreement with the Iraqi government to develop the Qayara and Najmah oil fields in the northern province of Ninawa, online energy news service Upstreamonline reports.

The Najmah field holds an estimated 900 million barrels of oil. Qayara holds roughly 800 million barrels.

Russia's LUKoil and Norway's Statoil secured a deal earlier this week for the giant West Qurna-2 oil field in Basra province.

Assim Jihad, a spokesman for the Iraqi Oil Ministry, told the Voices of Iraq news agency those companies won the prized West Qurna contract with pledges to produce 1.8 million barrels per day from the field for a fee of $1.15 per barrel.

West Qurna holds an estimated 12.8 billion barrels of oil.

Iraq landed key deals during its second round of post-war oil auctions in December. The country aims to expand its production capacity through the deals to rival Saudi Arabia in terms of oil output.

Any of the contracts awarded in the latest auction require the consent of the Iraqi Cabinet before they are finalized.

© 2009 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

Order reprints
  
Join the conversation
Most Popular Collections
Protesters, police clash at NATO summit Notable deaths of 2012 2012 Billboard Music Awards
The 137th Preakness Stakes Annual Solar eclipse occurs in U.S. Chen Guangcheng arrives in the U.S.
Additional Energy Resources Stories
1 of 29
Members of the Army's Old Guard place flags at Arlington National Ceremtery
View Caption
U.S. flags are seen in the rucksack of a soldier with the Army's 3d U.S. Infantry Regiment, The Old Guard, as he places flags at gravesites in Arlington National Cemetery as part of the Flags-In Memorial Day ceremony on May 24, 2012 in Arlington, Virginia. American flags were placed at each of the more than 220,000 grave markers in honor of those who served and Memorial Day. UPI/Kevin Dietshc
fark
$10,000 worth of damage to home caused by rebellious teens skipping school. And by teens, I mean...
'The Demise of Guys': How video games and porn are ruining a generation. This...is CNN
"NFL locker rooms could be more than ready to not only accept, but embrace homosexual teammates"...
Mayor of a New Jersey town and worried about the recall drive against you? No problem, just hack...
Not news: man divorces wife over her cats. Fark: she has 550 of them
You're in the office, these animals are in the sun