Tuesday, 28 Sep 2010Iraq's oil ministry denounces police raid on Chinese-run oil field
Baghdad - Iraq's Oil Ministry on Tuesday said security forces had violated the law by raiding the Chinese-run facilities of the eastern al-Ahdab oil field and expressed concern for the affect it could have on foreign investment in the oil sector.
"Oil sites and facilities are under the control of the Central Government and the interference of any body or the provincial councils is a violation of the law," the state-run daily al-Sabah quoted the ministry as saying.
Emergency forces in the eastern province of Wasit raided the facilities on Monday on the orders of some members of the provincial council. The council members claimed there was "manipulation in the documents" of the al-Ahdab oil field and demanded to "review the conduct of business and production process".
Al-Ahdab is located 180 kilometres south-west of the capital Baghdad.
Two years ago, the Chinese National Petroleum Company (CNPC) and its Chinese partner, Zhenhua Oil, signed a 23-year service agreement to work in the al-Ahdab oil field, which has estimated reserves of 1 billion barrels.
CNPC contracts in Iraq have been in existence since Saddam Hussein ruled Iraq, but the agreement to work in al-Ahdab was renewed after the US-led invasion of 2003.
Over the past year, Iraq has signed at least 10 contracts with various foreign companies for the development of several oil fields.
The government, which relies heavily on oil exports for its revenue, hopes foreign investment will boost oil output to 12 million barrels per day up from the current 2.5 million.
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