Iraq's government is expected to decide on deals with oil majors to develop the West Qurna and Zubair oilfields before the end of 2009, a deputy of the oil minister said on Saturday. Cabinet approval of a contract for an Eni-led group to develop Zubair and for an Exxon Mobil-led consortium to work the West Qurna Phase One project had been expected early in November, but has been pushed back.
"Before the end of the year, ... both contracts will be ratified," Abdul-Karim Louaibi told reporters in Cairo when asked to give a timeframe. On the Zubair field, Louaibi said: "Now it is in front of the cabinet. The cabinet has some comments on it and it will be discussed God willing in the coming days."
The deals are part of Iraq's bid to breathe life into its struggling energy sector, which after decades of war and sanctions is outdated, producing only around the same amount of oil as it did before the 2003 overthrow of Saddam Hussein.