• Iraq
  • December 15, 2009
  • 1 minute read

Big Oil Jumps for Licenses in Iraq

Big Oil Jumps for Licenses in Iraq

Baghdad

London

Foreign oil executives are flocking to Iraq as it prepares to open some of its untapped oil assets to Western oil companies, undeterred by a string of attacks Tuesday that killed more than 120 people.

Iraq’s second oil-licensing round, to be held Friday and Saturday, has elicited substantial interest from Big Oil. The most tempting prizes are the Majnoon and West Qurna-Phase 2 fields, each of which contains more than 12 billion barrels of proven reserves. The fields have been in the majors’ sights for decades.

The auction is key to Iraq’s goal of reviving an oil industry …