Iraqi and international oil firms’ talks on first post-war deals are moving along …
Plus: *Oil Ministry Shahristani in BBC interview *Iraqi Kurdistan’s Oil Minister Ashti Hawrami vows to sign more deals *OMV rejects Shahristani’s claim, will stick with KRG deal *Kurds threaten to withdraw from government *Iraq’s ambassador to U.S. optimistic on the draft oil law *Shell, Repsol register for oil bids; Exxon wants in too Negotiations between […]Negotiations between international oil companies and Iraq Oil Ministry officials appear to be progressing, despite protests at a conference in London. Iraq is in direct talks with the world's largest oil companies and is prepping for a first round of bids to develop its oil fields, United Press International reports. Iraq's reserves, the third largest in the world, are producing about 2.3 million barrels per day, and Iraq Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani said the direct talks will help boost that to 2.8 million bpd by the end of the year. Protests were organized by the group War on Want, and their protests were covered by Dow Jones Newswires.
More on BP by Terry Macalister in The Guardian. It’s CEO is ready to move forward on technical service deals, Dow Jones Newswires reports. Oil major Royal Dutch Shell and Spanish energy company Repsol YPF have both registered to compete for contracts to develop Iraq's huge oil reserves, company sources said on Wednesday, Simon Webb reports for Reuters. As part of Shahristani’s plan to sign upstream contracts this year, companies have until Feb. 18 to pre-register with the Oil Ministry. ExxonMobil is also keen on getting in on the action, Reuters reports.
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