Tendering for Iraq’s gas round will begin as planned in October, despite the lack of a government in the country.
“No, the gas round will be on October 20, I think the oil ministry has decided to go ahead with that,” Ali Al Dabbagh, official spokesman for the Iraqi government, told Arabian Business on the sidelines of the Economist Iraq Business and Investment Summit in Bahrain.
“So they will be opening the tenders on October 20 and will distribute the information on 10 October. There is a decisive position from the government to go ahead with that.”
Al Dabbagh said that the delayed tenders had been caused by companies asking for more details about the bids.
The official comment comes despite growing concern over the legitimacy of any contracts handed out before a new government is confirmed.
Iraq has now been without a government since a general election resulted in a hung parliament seven months ago.
Speaking to reporters at the Bahrain event, Al Dabbagh admitted that the deadlock had put some potential investors off.
“I don’t deny there is a waiting stage for investors…and the markets are influenced by the fact the government is not yet formed,” the official added.
“I am disappointed with how little investment there has been…they are worried about the security situation but I can assure everyone that with all the threats and challenges that we see, it is not to the level that would stop investment.”
Al Dabbagh also said that the country that had provided the most investment in Iraq was Turkey, closely followed by the Gulf states.
