Iraq qualifies 41 firms for fourth licensing round

08 August 2011

Twelve exploration blocks up for auction

Iraq’s Oil Ministry has prequalified 41 companies to participate in its fourth oil and gas licensing round, which is set to be held in January 2012.

Some 50 firms submitted prequalification documents on the 6 June deadline. The firms were judged on the basis of five criteria: technical, financial, legal, training and health and safety, according to the Petroleum Contracts & Licensing Directorate.

According to the invitation for prequalification, all companies which were not prequalified to bid in the previous three rounds or those who were qualified, but did not win any contracts, were invited to apply to bid in the fourth round.

The published list includes nine Japanese oil firms, four Russian and US firms, three Chinese firms and three Italian and UK-based firms.

Twelve exploration blocks across the country are up for auction in the bid round which could add as much as 29 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves and 10 billion barrels of oil.  With 11 major oil fields already being developed by international oil firms, Iraq does not need to develop any more oil finds, but the auction aims to add to Iraq’s reserves, raising its profile in terms of Opec production quotas (MEED 29:4:11).

However, any non-associated gas discoveries are expected to be brought on stream as quickly as possible to respond to the country’s increasing needs for power generation. This would protect Iraq’s national gas grid from any future curtailment on oil output, which would reduce associated gas production.

Qualified firms include (in alphabetical order):

  • Atpeco (Japan)
  • Bashneft (Russia)
  • BP (UK)
  • Chevron (US)
  • China National Offshore Oil Company (China)
  • China National Petroleum Corporation (China)
  • Edison (Italy)
  • Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (Egypt)
  • ENI (Italy)
  • ExxonMobil (US)
  • Gazprom (Russia)
  • Hess Corporation (US)
  • INA (Croatia)
  • Inpex Corporation (Japan)
  • ITOCHU Corporation (Japan)
  • Japex (Japan)
  • Jogmec (Japan)
  • JX Nippon Oil and Gas Exploration Corporation (Japan)
  • Kogas (South Korea)
  • Kuwait Energy (Kuwait)
  • Lukoil (Russia)
  • Mitsubishi Corporation (Japan)
  • Mitsui Oil (Japan)
  • Mubadala Oil (UAE)
  • Occidental (US)
  • OJSC Oil Company (Russia)
  • OJSC TNK-BP (Russia)
  • ONGC Videsh (India)
  • Pakistan Petroleum (Pakistan)
  • Petro Vietnam Exploration & Production (Vietnam)
  • Petrochina (China)
  • Petronas (Malaysia)
  • Premier Oil (UK)
  • PT Pertamina (Indonesia)
  • PTTEP International Holding (Thailand)
  • Shell (UK-Dutch)
  • Sonangol (Angola)
  • Statoil (Norway)
  • Sumitomo Corperation (Japan)
  • Total (France)
  • TPAO (Turkey)

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