LUKoil Likely to Renew Iraqi Contract

(RIA Novosti) - Russia's largest independent oil producer LUKoil will have an opportunity to renew its contract for the West Qurna-2 oil field in southern Iraq, a senior Iraqi lawmaker said on Monday.

West Qurna-2's proven recoverable reserves have been estimated at around 6 billion barrels of oil. Under the terms of the contract, output could amount to 4.8 billion barrels of oil and 56.4 billion cubic meters of associated gas. Investment in the project could reach $4 billion.

"We believe that the contract with LUKoil will be reviewed but the company will be given preference and will be allowed to invest in the West Qurna-2 oil field. We are very much interested in that," Ali Hussein Balo, chairman of the oil and gas committee of the Iraqi parliament, said in an interview with RIA Novosti.

Balo added that the Iraqi oil industry, which had suffered after years of an international blockade, was still in decline.

Iraq and LUKoil agreed in 2008 to set up a working group to amend the original contract to develop West Qurna-2.

Baghdad is also discussing the West Qurna-2 oil field with Chevron and Total. However, analysts say that Iraq is likely to resume work at West Qurna-2 with LUKoil after Russia recently wrote off the bulk of the country's debt of around $12 billion.

LUKoil was involved in the development of the first phase of West Qurna and signed a contract with the Saddam Hussein regime to develop the second stage, but the deal was frozen in 2002.

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