More than a dozen current and former North Oil Company employees as well as advisors have been implicated.
Iraq is looking for international oil companies to play a large role in renewed plan for fields on border with Iran.
New pipeline will feed Basra power plants with Iranian gas – another sign of growing energy cooperation between the neighboring countries.
Former South Oil Company chief Jabbar Allibi nominated to head the Oil Ministry, as Abadi makes a second attempt to reform his Cabinet.
For the first time, international companies will be paid for oil production stemming from Iraq's new generation of exploration contracts.
Iraq's oil sector is showing resilience amidst political and financial crises, exporting more than 3.2 million bpd for the fifth straight month.
Abadi taps Nazar Numan, a Kurdish geologist, to run the Oil Ministry, and proposes Ali Allawi to once again head the Finance Ministry.
Adil Abd al-Mahdi has left the Oil Ministry and ceded authority to his deputy, as Baghdad braces for PM Abadi's Cabinet overhaul.
Gas will fuel at least a power plant in Diyala province within weeks, after years of security delays.
The first gas condensates exports from the Basra Gas Company is a benchmark for the venture and also helps pay down debt to Shell.
