Iraq pushes ahead with oil plans

LONDON, Feb 6 (KUNA) -- The Iraqi Government is inviting major oil multinationals to participate for the first time in the development of the oil industry, without waiting for the passage of crucial but controversial hydrocarbons legislation, it was revealed here Wednesday.
In a sign that the oil law the US has been pressing for is unlikely to be agreed by parliament any time soon, Hussain Shahristani, Iraq's oil minister, said in an interview with the Financial Times (FT) that Iraq was now determined to push ahead with plans to raise production from a current 2.5 million barrels-per-day (bpd) to six million bpd in five years.
Speaking on the sidelines of a conference in London, he said major companies were registering to pre-qualify for oil development licences before the February 18 deadline.
The process, he said, should lead next year to the award of the first contracts to develop oil fields across the country.
Oil giants, so far deterred from Iraq by violence and the absence of clear legislation, are showing keen interest in the pre-qualification process, the main business daily in Europe said.
It marks the first opportunity to tap into a country with the world's third largest proved oil reserves and a largely undeveloped oil industry with low production costs, it added.
The exact terms of the longer-term development contracts have not been decided yet, according to Shahristani.
The minister said a "model contract" would be worked out, compensating companies for bringing in technology and financial resources while guaranteeing full government ownership and control of oil.
Shahristani's decision to bypass an oil law reflects the Government's frustration with the Kurdish regional government, which has been seeking more independence on oil policy, fuelling a protracted dispute with other parliamentary groups, the FT concluded. (end) he.bz.
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