Iraqi Oil: Companies Demand More Money To Accept Bids
BAGHDAD (AP) -- Iraq's long-awaited licensing round to develop some of its massive oil reserves stumbled Tuesday as oil and gas companies dug in their heals, demanding more money for their efforts than the government was willing to pay.
International oil companies were submitting bids for six oil and two gas fields more than 30 years after Saddam Hussein nationalized the oil sector and expelled foreign firms. The televised process coincided with Iraq assuming formal control over its cities -- a step toward ending the U.S. combat role in the country.
But by midday, only one field had been awarded and several others drew limited to no interest.
The government was hoping that the high-profile licensing round -- televised to prove its transparency -- would result in companies flooding in, bringing their expertise as the country looks to boost output of a resource whose sales bring in 90 percent of the government's revenues.
Some analysts have said companies may be unwilling to commit to major ventures in Iraq, opting to wait and see how the security situation develops after the U.S. pullout from urban areas.
Al-Maliki said at the start of the day's ceremony that the government would "offer security protection, offer all guarantees for their investments and offer all the facilities needed to ensure the success of this process."
Disputes over how much the companies would get for producing over a minimum output target cast a pall on a process heralded as offering Iraq the key to rebuilding an economy devastated by years of sanctions and the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. Iraq has about 115 billion barrels in crude -- among the world's largest deposits -- and the fields on offer account for roughly 43 billion barrels of those reserves.
Two consortiums submitted offers for the Rumaila oil field, which holds 17.8 billion barrels in crude reserves. British giant BP PLC and China's CNPC made up the first consortium, while U.S. giant Exxon Mobil and Malaysia's Petronas comprised the second.
Under the service contracts, the companies would be paid a per barrel fee for any crude they produce in excess of a minimum production target. The Exxon Mobil-led consortium requested $4.8 per barrel for production over the minimum and BP wanted $3.99 per barrel, Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani said. The ministry was willing to pay $2 per barrel.
BP agreed to match the ministry's price and won the contract for Rumaila, said al-Shahristani. Exxon Mobil had refused to revise its bid, he said.
No bids were offered on the second field on offer, Mansouria.
The field, located in the restive Diyala province, is an undeveloped gas field estimated to hold 3.3 trillion cubic feet of reserves with production potential of 330 million cubic feet a day. That province has weathered some of Iraq's worst violence.
Four consortiums submitted bids to develop the 4.1 billion barrel Zubair oil field. The groups were led by India's ONGC, China's CNPC, Italy's Eni and Exxon Mobil.
A consortium made up of ConocoPhillips and China's CNOOC Ltd. and Sinopec was the only bidder for the 2.4 billion barrel Bai Hassan field in the Kirkuk region in the north. But ConocoPhillips, which bid $26.7 per barrel for output over the minimum, refused to match the ministry's estimated per barrel payment of about $4, said al-Shahristani.
CNOOC led a consortium that was the only bidder for the Missan fields -- three adjacent fields offered as one bloc. But the Chinese firm, which had bid $21.4 per barrel, refused to match the government's $2 per barrel price.
The Kirkuk field, with an estimated 8 billion barrels of reserves, also drew only one bidder.
The Shell-led group -- which includes Sinopec, CNPC and Turkish Petroleum -- offered a price of $7.89 per barrel while the government said it was willing to pay only $2 per barrel.
Officials had earlier said that any fields not agreed on would be re-offered in subsequent rounds. But al-Shahristani said the offers on Bai Hassan and Missan "will be taken to the Cabinet for further instructions."
The step appeared aimed at saving a bidding round that was already under fire by some in parliament. The lawmakers had argued that al-Shahristani's insistence on having the Cabinet approve the deals, instead of the parliament, would render the deals unconstitutional.
The political wrangling was largely an effort by the country's various political blocs to secure a stake in Iraq's oil fortunes.
But analysts have said the bickering could further unsettle international oil companies already worried about Iraq's lack of a new national oil law and the government's argument that deals struck independently with the semiautonomous Kurds in the north are illegal.
Rounding out the list of worries is Iraq's perennial security worries.
Al-Shahristani has borne much of the criticism, with some pointing to Iraq's inability to even reach its prewar production levels as evidence that he has failed. The minister, however, has insisted he was working for the country's best interest.
Iraqi officials have estimated that based on crude oil at $50 per barrel, the companies could earn around $16 billion in total. Iraq, meanwhile, would get over $1.7 trillion.
As part of the contracts, the companies have to provide so-called "soft-loan" signature bonuses to the government that total about $2.6 billion.
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First Posted: 06-30-09 10:09 AM | Updated: 06-30-09 10:15 AM