Al-Ghalib, which acts as the exclusive agent for Drillmec, says it will use its own staff to carry out the pre-delivery inspection, rig up, training, start up and commissioning from its Iraqi offices.

Al-Ghalib has previously completed deals for the Iraqi water well market for Drillmec during the UN’s oil for food programme and has shipped more than 120 waterwell rigs to Iraq in the last six years.

The bulk of the rigs are to be deployed in the south, along with a number of rigs to be sent to the Kirkuk region.

Earlier this week Iraq qualified 35 international oil companies to bid for oil and gas service contracts in the first stage of its aim to lift crude production from 2.4 million barrels a day (b/d) currently to 6 million b/d by 2013 (MEED 14:4:07).

Iraq’s Ministry of Oil says the shortlist had been trimmed from 120 companies but declined to say which firms failed to make the cut.