Russian Look Oil company tries to return back to Iraq
Iraq-Russia, Business, 2/17/2005

The Russian "Look oil" company said on Wednesday that it has been in talks with the Iraqi government in order to restore back the rights to develop "al-Qurna al-Gharbi" oil field and hopes to get the quick consent from Baghdad after the end of general elections in Iraq.

"Look Oil" is looking to restore the rights to work in the oil field which it got under the rule of the toppled Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, though there were news on stumbled talks in 2004 to this effect.

The chairman of the company Gajit al-Kabirov said that he considered al-Qurna oil field area is promising, noting that the former Soviet Union worked in this area actively.

"Look oil" has an office in Iraq and al-Kabirov himself visited Iraq earlier this month. The oil official said a large number of Iraqi experts are trained in Russia at the meantime.

Russian companies had finalized contracts at a cost of $ 4 billion with the government of Saddam Hussein but toppling this government had frozen the implementation of these contracts and raised possibilities of abrogating them and giving them later to companies from countries which took part in the invasion which was led by Washington against Iraq in March 2003.

Worthy mentioning that Baghdad had asked world oil companies by the end of 2004 to submit bids for exploring oil fields.

Iraq has the second largest oil reserve in the world estimated at 200 billion barrels, however, the exploration of these fields mainly depends on the security condition as oil installations are repeatedly attacked. Despite that, Iraqi officials announced by the end of 2004 that $ 3 billion was allotted in the budget of 2005 for oil industry rehabilitation.

At the meantime, Iraq produces 2.4 million barrels of oil daily and hopes to increase it this year. Iraq's oil exports by the end of 2004 reached a daily average of 1.55 million barrels.

Previous Stories:
  Iraq's oil minister to visit Moscow shortly   (10/31/2003)
  Baghdad: three new oil contracts with Russia; Look oil back to Iraq   (1/18/2003)
  On Iraqi oil exploration   (9/29/1998)

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