Iraq: Contacts with Japex, Petronas and Repsol on oil service contractsnote

Iraqi Oil Minister Hussein Al-Shahrastani is said to have begun contacts with Japex, Petronas and Repsol on some oil service contracts after failing to agree with other companies on the same contracts. These contracts were involving ExxonMobil for Zubair field, BP for Rumailah, Chevron and Total for West Qurna -1, Anadarko Petroleum for Subba and Luhais, and Royal Dutch Shell for two fields, one in northern Iraq while the other in Maysan along with BHP Billiton. The following 356-word report focuses on the issue.