Baghdad: Iraq will start preparations this week to hold a fourth licensing auction to award several oil and gas exploration contracts to international companies, a senior Iraqi oil official said yesterday.
"God willing, we hope to hold the fourth bid round this year," Abdul Mahdi Al Ameedi, head of Iraq's Petroleum Contracts and Licensing Directorate said.
Ameedi, whose office engineered three rounds in the last two years that led to awarding 15 oil and gas fields, didn't say how many exploration blocks would be offered in the new auction, but said it would include oil and gas ones.
Earlier, the country's newly appointed oil minister Abdul Kareem Luaiby said that Iraq would offer some 12 blocks.
More inclusive
"The plan is to tender for blocks in governorates where no fields were offered in the first three rounds such as Najaf and Karbala governorates," he said, adding that western Anbar province, home to the Akkas gas field could also be included. Iraq has so far held three successful petroleum bidding rounds over the last two years that led to the award of some of the country's prized oil and gas fields throughout the country. These would help more than quadruple the country's production.
New oil field exploration is needed to compensate for the huge amount of crude oil that the country is expected to extract from oil fields currently being developed.
Fast growth
Iraq has raised crude oil production more quickly than expected, achieving an increase of more than 300,000 barrels a day, a senior Iraqi oil official said yesterday.
"We are hoping to reach a total of 3 million barrels a day by the end of 2011," said Abdul Mahdi Al Ameedi, head of Iraq's Petroleum Contracts and Licensing Directorate.
