Iraq: Contracts with major oil companies may be subject to delaynote

The Iraqi Oil Ministry is holding talks with major oil companies on 2-year technical support contracts (TSCs). The contracts involves ExxonMobil for Zubair field, BP for Rumailah, Chevron and Total for West Qurna -1, and Royal Dutch Shell for two fields, one in northern Iraq, the other in Maysan along with BHP Billiton. The following 243-word article is published in Iraq Information Report’s issue of April 25, 2008. It talks about why the contracts may be subject to delay, which company has yet to complete its file and which contracts are likely to be given priority.