Model contract delay, but other activity increases

Iraq's first licensing round looks set to be delayed, with no model contract yet published by the Oil Ministry; meanwhile Russia's Stroitransgaz has lost its contract to rehabilitate the crude pipeline to Syria, though a flurry of projects is starting to see international service companies re-enter the country.

A model contract for Iraq's first licensing round has still to be published, possibly delaying bid submission deadlines; elsewhere Stroitransgaz has been punished for inactivity with the loss of the Kirkuk-Banias pipeline rehabilitation project, but Iraq appears determined to press ahead, seeing opportunities as increasing numbers of service companies return to the country.