Iraq’s Oil Ministry has made amendments to the contracts for its fourth oil and gas licensing round after complaints from participating companies.

Abdul-Mahdy al-Ameedi, director of contracts and licences, says a final formula will be issued before the beginning of the negotiations in November, Irbil-based AKnews reports.

The initial contracts for 12 oil and gas sites in Iraq were presented to 46 prequalified international oil companies at a roadshow in Jordan in mid-September.

The model contract and final tender protocol will be released on 15 December, after a technical and contractual workshop in November. The auction will take place on 25-26 January 2012.

Baghdad has already revised the fee structure for the contracts. The main change in the new contract has been to the remuneration fee formula, which has been altered to encourage developers to minimise costs (MEED 16:9:11).