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“B.B” looking for a role in Iraq and looking forward to the oil law
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Translated by IRAQdirectory.com - [4/18/2007]
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A prominent executive official at the giant oil company, B.B, said that the company is interested in working on a series of oil and gas projects in Iraq but it is awaiting the approval of the oil law by the parliament and the improvement of the security situation before enhancing its role there. International companies are competing for a foothold in Iraq, looking to share profitably in the future of the country's oil.
Iraq has the third largest oil reserves in the world and needs billions of dollars to invest in increasing production and renewing the obsolete infrastructure. Steve Peacock, Chairman of the exploration and production unit in the Middle East, said ultimately Iraq will define the areas where we will participate in... But I think that we can assist in all areas including the discovered fields and the non-developed or in prospecting.
The draft law adopted by the government last February is still waiting for the approval of the parliament. Peacock said that it will take some time after the ratification of the law to negotiate contracts and to send B.B people to work in Iraq because of the security situation in the country. He continued that B.B is awaiting further assurances that any contract agreement would not be affected by a change in government.
He said that B.B has been providing assistance to the Iraqi Oil Company in the south near Rumaila, the Northern and Southern fields in Rumaila, which has been developed and already partially operational with a productive capacity of about 500 thousand barrels per day. He went on to say that the company is not looking to participate in the Kurdish area in northern Iraq until the ratification of the law despite the fact that the security situation in the region is better than in the rest of the country. The Emirate Company, Dana Gas, said on Sunday that it had signed agreements with the Kurdish regional government to study developing the gas reserves there.
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