Oil Ministry finalizes oilfield contracts with Angola’s Sonangol

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The Iraqi Ministry of Oil has signed final contracts with an Angolan state oil company to develop the Qayara and Najma oilfields. “On Tuesday, the ministry signed two contracts with the Angolan Sonangol to develop the Qayara and Najma oilfields in Ninewa as part of the second oil licensing round,” a spokesperson for the Oil Ministry, Aasem Jihad, told IraqiNews.com news agency. Under the contract, the company will receive $5-per-barrel-payment for additional oil extracted from Qayara above current production levels and $6-per-barrel-payment for Najma. Sonangol had initially proposed a remuneration fee of $8.50 a barrel for Najma and $12.50 for Qayara, but later agreed to the ministry’s lower offer. Iraq hopes the contracts signed during the first two oil licensing rounds will help bring the country’s oil production to 12 million (barrels per day) bpd in six years, compared to the current production level of about 2.5 million bpd. SS (P) 2