BAGHDAD, Sept. 20 (UPI) -- Three oil fields in Iraq will go on the auction block for international bidders Oct. 20, a contracting official said.
International oil companies are believed to have asked the Iraqi government to delay an auction scheduled originally for September in order to study the details of the contracts, the Platts news service reports.
The companies also expressed concern over the political stalemate in Iraq, the agency adds. The country has been unable to form a new government nearly seven months after the secular Iraqiya slate secured a narrow victory.
Abdul Mahdi al-Ameedi, the country's minister for contracts, told the news service the bidding would begin near the end of next month.
"The gas bidding round now has a new date, which is Oct. 20," he said. "This is the final date of the bidding round."
Three Iraqi oil fields -- Akka, Mansuriya and Siba -- are on the auction block for October.
Baghdad expressed confidence that it would one day rival Saudi Arabia in terms of oil production following auctions in December.
