Iraq’s oil ministry announced on Monday that it had invited US companies to bid on an oil field which had been operated by the now American-sanctioned Russian company Lukoil for years.<\/p>\n
The oil ministry said in a statement it had taken “all necessary measures to directly and exclusively invite several major American oil companies… to submit bids” to take over the management of the West Qurna 2 in southern Iraq, which is one of the world’s largest oil fields according to Lukoil.<\/p>\n
An oil ministry official told AFP “the winner takes over as operator instead of Lukoil”.<\/p>\n
The ministry added that “transferring management of the West Qurna 2 field to an American oil company would benefit mutual interests, strengthen global market stability, and maintain Iraq’s oil production”.<\/p>\n
Lukoil was awarded the contract to develop the field in 2009, and five years later it started production, according to the Russian company’s website.<\/p>\n
US President Donald Trump announced in October sanctions against Russian oil majors Lukoil and Rosneft, which came into force on November 21.<\/p>\n
Those moves — the most powerful by Trump against Russia over the Ukraine war — have already seen major buyers of Russian oil scramble to find alternative suppliers.<\/p>\n
In recent weeks, reports emerged in Iraq about Lukoil’s ability to continue running the West Qurna 2 field.<\/p>\n
Several oil experts told AFP that US oil giant ExxonMobil might be the one to replace Lukoil, but the company declined AFP’s request for comment.<\/p>\n
In October, ExxonMobil returned to Iraq after a two-year absence, reaching an initial agreement that could pave the way for developing the Majnoon field in the southern province of Basra.<\/p>\n
Authorities in oil-rich Iraq, which recently regained a semblance of stability, hope to attract investment, notably from US companies, across various sectors of the economy.<\/p>\n
Iraq is a founding member of the OPEC cartel, and crude oil sales make up 90 percent of the country’s budget revenues. It currently exports 3.4 million barrels per day.<\/p>\n
ak-cbg-rh\/dcp<\/p>\n
\u00a9 Agence France-Presse<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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