Business News
Iraq licences foreign groups to develop three gas fields
Oct 20, 2010, 16:04 GMT
Baghdad - Iraq's Ministry of Oil granted new licences on Wednesday to five foreign companies to develop three natural gas fields.
Combined, the three fields contain reserves of over 128 billion cubic metres of natural gas, Minister of Oil Hussein al-Shahristani said, following an auction.
South Korean KoGas in consortium with Kazakhstan's KazMunuaiGaz won a licence to develop the Akkas field in Anbar, western Iraq.
A partnership of Kuwait Energy and the Turkish TPAO won the right to develop the Siba field in the southern province of Basra.
In alliance with the Korean Gas Corp., the Kuwaiti-Turkish consortium also won a licence for al-Mansouriyah field, close to the Iranian border, in Diyala province.
A pool of 13 companies had bid in the auction, which was pushed off from September.
Some companies have been wary of investing in Iraq, owing to its volatile state of security and poor infrastructure.
Severe electricity shortages affect all areas of Iraq and the oil minister said local power plants would be the first to benefit from the fields once they are developed.
The licenses still require final approval from the Iraqi cabinet.
Read more about Iraq Energy
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