BAGHDAD, Jan. 27 (UPI) -- Angolan state oil company Sonangol signed two contracts to develop oil fields in northern Iraq with the Iraqi government, an Oil Ministry spokesman said.
"The ministry signed two contracts with the Angolan Sonangol to develop the Qarriyah and Najmah oil fields in Ninawa (province) as part of the second oil licensing round," Iraqi Oil Ministry spokesman Asim Jihad told the Voices of Iraq news agency.
The company received roughly half of the per-barrel payment it had proposed, however.
Sonangol said it would boost production at the Qarriyah to 120,000 barrels per day and 110,000 bpd for the Najmah field.
Both oil fields are situated near the northern city of Mosul.
Iraq held its first postwar oil auctions in 2009. Investors shied away from the first round in June, citing security concerns. The December auction, however, was heralded as a success, with some of Iraq's largest oil fields doled out to international bidders.
Iraq said in the wake of the December auction it was set to rival Saudi Arabia in terms of oil output. Iraq holds some of the largest oil deposits in the world. Much of the country, particularly Iraq's western deserts, remains unexplored.
