December 22, 2009
Chinese-led group initials deal for Iraq oil field
BAGHDAD — A consortium led by China's top oil producer initialled a deal with Iraq on Tuesday to develop the southern Halfaya oil field, oil ministry spokesman Assem Jihad told AFP.
"Yes, they signed the contract today," he said of the group made up of China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) and which also includes France's Total and Malaysia's Petronas.
The three companies are aiming to increase production at Halfaya, which has proven reserves of 4.098 billion barrels of oil, to 535,000 barrels per day (bpd).
They will receive fees of 1.40 dollars per barrel extracted.
CNPC has a 50-percent stake in the project, while Petronas and Total each have 25 percent.
Iraq auctioned Halfaya to the consortium on December 11, the first day of a two-day oil field auction which dramatically increased the country's projected crude production to 12 million bpd within seven years.
einnews
