LUKoil To Bid For 2 O&G Fields in Iraq

The Moscow Times quoted some company sources, sayiong that LUKoil is interested in bidding for the West Qurna and the Rumaila oil fields.

The same anonymous source reported LUKoil is going to compete with U.S. major ConocoPhillips to bid for the fields. Conoco owns a 20 percent stake in LUKoil.

Rumaila is the largest field on offer and alone accounts for nearly 15 percent of Iraq's oil reserves.

LUKoil has lobbied Iraqi officials to revive a deal for West Qurna that it signed while Saddam Hussein was in power. The sources declined to comment on whether LUKoil was continuing those efforts.

The company had hoped that Russia's decision to forgive most of Iraq's $12.9 billion debt last year might help. Iraq has said LUKoil would have to bid for the contract.

Author: Ksenia Kochneva