Iraq’s Oil Ministry will launch its second oil licensing round in Istanbul on 25 August with 45 qualified companies invited to attend.

An international oil company executive says he expects the ministry to relax its terms by publishing the maximum fee it will pay energy majors for each oil field at the Istanbul roadshow.

“There now seems widespread consensus that Iraq will publish that service fee in advance so there is a clear idea of where they stand right from the start,” says the executive.

In June’s first licensing round, Iraq’s Oil Ministry held off publicising its terms and conditions governing the fields until oil companies had already filed their bids.

Only one licence was awarded to the UK’s BP as companies baulked at Baghdad’s tough bargaining stance (MEED 30:6:09).

In the second round, the ministry’s Petroleum Contracts & Licensing Directorate is offering licences covering 10 oil and gas fields which have yet to be developed.

The fields include the highly prized Majnoon field in Basra Province and West Qurna phase 2, which holds about six billion barrels of oil (MEED 2:4:09).

The remaining fields include Halfaya, East Baghdad, Gharraf, Qavara, Najmah, Badrah and Merjan/Kifl/West Kifl.

Iraq is also offering an Eastern Block comprising the Gilabat, Khashm al-Ahmr, Nau Doman and Qumar fields.

The government previously said it will sign contracts by the end of 2009 and that the fields are capable of producing up to 2.5 million barrels a day (b/d) of oil by 2013 (MEED 31:12:08).