Iraq invites companies to bid on seismic surveys for two key fields

Iraq’s Oil Ministry has invited local and international oil companies to bid for contracts providing technical support for two major oil fields in southern and northern Iraq.

Companies interested in providing 3D seismic surveys for the Kirkuk field in the north and Rumaila oil field in the south must meet the ministry’s deadline of April 30, said the ministry’s Oil Exploration Company in two tenders issued on the ministry Web Site.

The two fields are among Iraq’s 10 “super giant” fields.
The Kirkuk field is located around the city of Kirkuk, 290 kilometers (180 miles) north of Baghdad, while Rumaila is near Iraq’s second-largest city of Basra, 550 kilometers (340 miles) southeast of the capital.

Iraq sits on the world’s third-largest oil reserves, totaling more than 115 billion barrels. But the industry is plagued by lack of modern equipment and training after decades of U.N. sanctions, war and Saddam Hussein’s ruinous rule.

The war-torn country is planning to increase its current 2.4 million barrel per day oil output to 3 million barrels a day by the end of 2008 by employing foreign companies’ expertise.

It is also targeting production of 4.5 million barrels a day by end of 2013.

International Herald Tribune