ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL), the overseas arm of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), has qualified for Iraq's fourth bidding round for the 12 exploration blocks.
A total of 41 companies have qualified besides OVL. The blocks are to be awarded by January next year. A total of 50 companies had submitted qualification documents for consideration by June 6 deadline.
The Iraqi oil ministry is planning to hold a road show at the end of September with contracts due to be awarded on January 25 or 26.
Officials in the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry said OVL had bid for the giant Halfaya oilfield along with state-run Oil India Ltd and Turkish Petroleum Corp (TPAO) in Iraq's second post-war bid round in December 2009. It lost the bid for the third largest field on offer in that round to a consortium led by a Chinese firm.
The Halfaya oilfield has estimated reserves of 4.1 billion barrels of oil. OVL had, in the first round in June that year, lost the Zubair oilfield when it along with OAO Gazprom of Russia and TPAO asked for a remuneration that was about five times higher than $1.90-2 a barrel that Baghdad was willing to pay.
Iraq is seeking foreign investments to boost output after six years of conflict. Bidders must accept service contracts that pay them a flat fee for each barrel extracted, rather than production-sharing agreements in which they gain a stake in the crude produced. A service contract means that they do not benefit from a rise in oil prices.
Companies qualifying for the Iraq's fourth bid round were dominated by Japanese firms which included Inpex Corp, JX Nippon, Mitsubishi Corp, Mitsui and Sumitomo. Russia's Bashneft, Gazprom, Lukoil, Rosneft and TNK-BP too qualified along with US' ExxonMobil, Chevron, Hess Corp and Occidental. Three Chinese firms — Cnooc, CNPC and Petrochina also figure in the list of 41.
