Iraq hopes to call an open race as early as September for its prized oilfields, its oil minister said today after talks in Moscow dashed Russian hopes of accessing oil reserves on preferential terms.
Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani said he hoped parliament would pass new oil legislation after the holidays, opening the way for tenders for specific fields.
"There will be no specific talks with any company over any particular field. What will happen is that Iraq will announce the development of certain fields and all qualified oil companies can come and compete," Mr Shahristani said.
He also said that all 27 producing fields in Iraq will be transferred to the national oil company, which will be free to decide whether it wants partners.
The 27 fields include West Qurna where Russian oil major Lukoil had hoped to revive a $4 billion Saddam-era deal. But Mr Shahristani said the issue was not raised at his meeting with Russian Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko.
However, Mr Shahristani said after the meeting the company could have an advantage over other bidders.
"Lukoil has done much in Iraq, has experience of working in our country, possesses vast data about Iraqi oil deposits. These temporary advantages raise the company's chances for winning free and transparent oil tenders," the minister said.
However he also questioned whether the deal should be revived considering it was scrapped because they had not developed the fields since 1997.
"This deal was signed and scrapped by the previous regime. There are documents in the ministry's archive saying that the contract is terminated because its terms are not met," he said.
Russia did not support the US-led invasion of Iraq, prompting analysts to speculate that its chances of reviving old deals were slim. Others have said US oil major ConocoPhillips, 20 per cent holding in Lukoil, could be an advantage.
Mr Shahristani also said Moscow was making no connection between Iraq's $10 billion outstanding debt to Russia and oil contracts. "It has been clear in our discussions [in Moscow]," he said.
Agencies