Iraq is
reportedly considering replacing US oil major ExxonMobil with Russian companies
in the West Qurna-1 project, as the authorities are angered by ExxonMobil’s
deal signed with the Kurdistan regional government without Baghdad’s approval.
Baghdad
is considering inviting Russia's LUKOIL and Gazprom Neft – both already
operating a number of projects in the country, instead of Exxon Mobil to
develop the West Qurna-1, Nefte Compass weekly reported on Thursday. With the
step Baghdad would signal international companies operating in Kurdistan that
it rejects any agreements with the semi-autonomous region’s government, sources
in the industry told RT.
Iraqi
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has reportedly offered the deal to Russian
President Vladimir Putin at the meeting Wednesday, the newspaper said. However,
no such offers have been officially announced.
Russia's
second-largest oil producer LUKOIL has refrained from comment. But Lukoil
sources told RT that the company hasn’t received any official offers. Currently
the oil major is developing the West Qurna-2 oil field in partnership with
Iraqi state-run North Oil Company after Norway’s Statoil left the project.
LUKOIL holds a dominant 75% share.
On
Wednesday Gazprom Neft, the oil arm of Russia's top natural gas producer
Gazprom, froze two contracts for oil development in the Kurdistan region,
according to the Iraqi PM. In August the company signed two production sharing
contracts with the Kurdistan Regional Government directly avoiding Iraqi Oil
Ministry approval. The company declined to comment, though a source told
Reuters that Gazprom Neft is still interested in Kurdistan’s oil.
The
Russian oil major is already developing the 300 million barrel Badra deposit
near the Iranian border. It holds a 30% stake in the project, along with South
Korea's Kogas with 22.5%, Malaysia's Petronas with 15% and Iraq's state-owned
Oil Exploration Company with 25% in the project. Production is due to start by
2013.
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