U.S. second largest energy company Chevron Corp. /quotes/zigman/289939/quotes/nls/cvx CVX -1.53% will be barred from contracts in the middle and southern Iraq because of the Californian company bought stakes in two oil-exploration blocks in the Kurdish region of Iraq, an Iraqi oil ministry statement said Tuesday.
Chevron was the second major western oil company to be banned by the central government in Baghdad from any future deals in the country's lucrative oil and gas sector, following Exxon Mobil Corp. /quotes/zigman/203975/quotes/nls/xom XOM -0.74% last year.
Chevron last week signed a deal with Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd. buying the majority stakes in two Kurdish blocks.