7 November 2008 Despite its disappointment that Iraqi oil fields it had been studying were opened to international bidding, Royal Dutch Shell says it welcomes the transparent process Iraq has chosen for its first landmark bid round. But the Anglo-Dutch supermajor’s upstream chief, Malcolm Brinded, says he needs to see contract terms before assessing whether the service deals have “long-term robustness” in the absence of a nationwide hydrocarbon law. “It…
Tag: TSC
Exxon, Conoco Both Score Firsts in Baghdad
13 August 2008 US majors are adopting a more aggressive approach toward Iraq. Jim Mulva, chief executive of ConocoPhillips, this month became the highest-ranking US company executive to visit the country since the war, while Exxon Mobil has submitted the first one-year no-fee technical support contract (TSC) to the oil ministry, Iraqi sources said Tuesday. A Conoco spokeswoman in Houston confirmed the visit, Mulva’s first to Iraq. “As customary in…
Iraq Gears up for Bid Round Road Show
17 July 2008 Iraq is gearing up to conduct a road show for its first bid round since the US-led invasion of 2003, announced at the end of June, and expects to launch a second round before the end of the year, Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani told International Oil Daily in an interview in Baghdad Wednesday. He added that technical support contracts (TSC) for five producing fields could still be…
Baghdad Rethinks Short-Term Service Deals
11 July 2008 The Iraqi oil ministry has asked Western majors to submit new proposals for technical support contracts (TSC) running for one year, rather than the planned two years — raising questions about the viability of the new deals, industry and Iraqi sources told International Oil Daily this week. Majors were expected to sign two-year TSCs at the end of last month, but Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani put the…