Business | Oil & Gas
Iraq to revive $1.2b oil deal with China
Iraq and China are set to revive a $1.2 billion oil deal that was cancelled after the 2003 US-led invasion, the Iraq's oil ministry said on Sunday.
- Agencies
- Published: 18:59 August 10, 2008
Baghdad: Iraq and China are set to revive a $1.2 billion oil deal that was cancelled after the 2003 US-led invasion, the Iraq's oil ministry said on Sunday.
An initial agreement with China is expected to be signed at the end of August to develop the billion-barrel Ahdab oil field south of Baghdad, the ministry said in a statement.
"Iraq and China are keen to show their cooperation by finalising an agreement on developing the Ahdab oil field," it said.
The announcement came after a meeting between Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain Al Shahristani and China's ambassador to Baghdad.
No further details were released, but if the deal is signed it will be the first Saddam Hussain-era oil deal to be honoured by the new Iraqi regime.
In 1997, Saddam's government signed an agreement with the state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation, despite United Nations sanctions that barred direct dealings with Iraq's oil industry.
The two countries restarted talks in October 2006.
The field is located near Wasit province, about 100 miles southeast of Baghdad, and could produce an estimated 115,000 barrels a day. Wasit has been the scene of sporadic attacks since the US-led invasion in 2003.
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