The auction of three gas fields in Iraq have been postponed by the Iraqi Oil Ministry for the second time, to Oct 20, after some companies asked for more time to study contract terms, an Iraqi oil official said on Sunday, according to Reuters.
The bidding round was to have taken place on Oct 1, after being pushed back by a month.
Speaking to Reuters, Abdul Mahdy al Ameedi, head of the Iraqi oil ministry’s licencing and contracting office, said: “Eight companies asked the Oil Ministry to postpone the auction to give them more time to study the final tender protocol after the ministry made some amendments.”
Iraq will tender gas fields at Akkas in the western desert, Mansuriyah near the Iranian border, and Siba in the southern oil hub of Basra.
The three fields together have estimated reserves of around 11.23 trillion cubic feet of gas.
Eleven companies, including Italy’s Edison and France’s Total, had registered for the auction and paid the necessary fees, and received final versions of the model contract earlier this month, the news service said.
Achieving greater power capacity is paramount to Iraq’s growing energy needs after years of sanctions and underinvestment. Iraq hopes that opening up its gas sector to foreign investment will boost its power capacity.
