Bid Round 5 – A Hybrid Contract

Iraq’s fifth bid round launched last year has fallen victim to national electioneering. After missing the first deadline in the timeline announced end of November to conduct a roadshow for the tendered exploration blocks by early February, technocrats at Iraq’s oil ministry received sudden instructions to cut through the usual process and prepare to award exploration and development contracts by April 15. Just like the Iraq National Oil Co (INOC)…

The Nassiriya Challenge

It’s unique, it’s challenging and it’s complex, but Iraq’s oil ministry seems determined to make the first upstream-downstream integrated project in Nassiriya a reality. What’s more, forget the $ per barrel fee that was the basis of all previous service contracts. On this one, investors will make a return on their investment from a percentage of the revenues Iraq will rake, pretty much like the “profit oil” concept in production-sharing…

Making Headway in Rumaila

Basrah – The Rumaila oil fields, North and South, are getting their biggest face lift in a long time and at a rate which will see the fields doubling their output within three years to some 2 million barrels per day. At a joint management committee (JMC) meeting last week, the second so far since the Rumaila service contract won by BP and CNPC in June 2009 became effective Dec….