Iraq's Nassiriya oil field which is believed to hold reserves under 5 billion barrels will be up for grabs in a mini auction round by the government, news agency Reuters reported. Citing Abdul-Mahdy al-Ameedi, head of the oil ministry's contracts and licensing directorate, Reuters said, four oil companies expressed their intention to participate in the auction of which three are being short listed. The three companies which made the cut include Chevron, ENI and Nippon, while Repsol's proposal wasn't qualified.
Speaking at a meeting with oil companies in Jordan, Ameedi said, "If we would like to do so, we will hold a mini bidding round and we will ask companies to participate."
"They would have to develop the field and a refinery with a capacity of 300,000 bpd (barrels per day)," he added.
Iraq attempted to pitch Nassiriya to foreign investors several times in the past. Last year talks with Nippon led Japanese consortium failed over finances. However the government has already signed several contracts that will significantly ramp up production and is looking to extend infrastructure to meet its output.
"The suggestion of the oil ministry to some companies is that if they would like to develop and produce Nassiriya, they have to build a refinery in order to be fed by the crude oil produced by Nassiriya," he said. "Therefore, these two projects should come together."
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