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A senior official from the Chinese energy giant Sinopec has said that the company is trying to clarify its position with the Iraq government regarding its eligibility to participate in the second round of oil auctions in the Gulf state.
Recent reports from Iraq suggested that Sinopec’s recent acquisition of the Swiss-Canadian exploration and development firm Addax Petroleum is the reason behind the company’s exclusion from the second bidding round for Iraqi oil fields. Addax has significant interests in the semi-autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan.
Reuters reported that Sinopec has been trying to open up communications with the Iraq oil ministry regarding the issue.
“Our people were communicating with the Iraqi side. I’ve heard no results so far,” Sinopec spokesman, Huang Wensheng, is reported by Reuters as saying.
Sinopec has already missed out on being part of the Eni-led consortium to development the giant Zubair field after the Iraq government requested that the company were to be removed.
The second round of auctions to develop Iraq’s oil fields has now been postponed from December until the January elections have been held in the country.
