Lukoil and its American partner ConocoPhillips are ready to help develop Iraq's West Qurna Stage 1 oil field on Iraq's terms, news agencies quoted Lukoil's CEO as saying Thursday.
Russian companies including Lukoil had contracts with Iraq under Saddam Hussein and are now seeking to re-establish their activities there.
Underscoring those hopes, Russia's special Mideast envoy visited Baghdad Wednesday and brought a message from Prime Minister Vladimir Putin calling for "strengthening interaction in economic and other areas," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said.
Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Saltanov met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, he said.
Lukoil chief Vagit Alekperov said that during a recent visit to Iraq, he told the Iraqi oil ministry that a consortium of Lukoil and ConocoPhillips "is prepared to start direct negotiations on West Qurna 1 on the terms announced earlier by the ministry," state-run RIA-Novosti and Interfax reported.
He did not describe the terms. In June, Iraq's first oil auction in 30 years was marred by disputes over how much money foreign companies would get for production in excess of targeted output under the 20-year service contracts on offer. A group led by Lukoil was among five that showed interest in West Qurna Stage 1, in the south, but the companies' profit share demands were as much as 10 times greater than what the government was willing to pay.
Alekperov said he hoped direct negotiations on the previously announced terms would start in mid-October, Interfax reported.
Lukoil signed a $3.7 billion production sharing contract to develop West Qurna Stage 2 field in 1997, but the deal was annulled by Saddam's regime nearly a year before the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, which Russia vociferously opposed.
Alekperov said Lukoil is in a "second round" of talks with Iraq over West Qurna Stage 2, according to Interfax, and that the infrastructure for the two Qurna projects suggests there should be a single operator for both.
ConocoPhillips owns 20 percent of Lukoil.
Comments (1)
09:34 Apr 25, 06:0
Venezuela seems a very political place to insvet; one of many around the world. And they are on the increase. It was once the case that private sector (oil) companies were accountable to their international shareholders in the global economy; the companies were cosmopolitan. However laws are national; so there is growing pressure on companies to be accountable to the government where they are based. We are seeing the effective nationalisation of the private sector; less connectivity'. Let's not get into the independent audit of VFM.
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