BAGHDAD, March 5 (UPI) -- China National Offshore Oil Corp. leads a consortium emerging as the top candidate to develop the Missan oil complex in southern Iraq, officials said.
CNOOC and its Chinese partners have looked to overseas oil and gas markets to feed their expanding economies. China National Petroleum Corp. joined British supermajor BP in a November deal to develop the giant Rumaila oil field in southern Iraq.
CNOOC and Sinochem International Corp. wrapped up talks with the Iraqi Oil Ministry for Missan development and a contract is headed to the Iraqi Cabinet for approval, The Wall Street Journal reports.
The CNOOC consortium would have to pay $300 million in bonuses if the contract were approved. CNOOC in the first post-war auctions in June failed to land an agreement for Missan because of pricing disputes.
Iraqi officials said they aimed to increase Missan oil production from 100,000 barrels per day to 275,000 barrels per day.
Iraq aims to rival Saudi Arabia in terms of oil production, though analysts say infrastructure and pressure from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries could undermine its ambitions.
