Iraq grants oil exploration permission to TPAO
Today's Zaman - [8/3/2009]
Energy Minister Taner Yıldız on Friday said the Iraqi government had announced that the state-run Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) can take part in a second tender in November to develop its oil and gas fields.
Releasing a written statement Yıldız said, “Baghdad's decision is an important development for our neighborly relations ... and for drawing up mutual projects." The minister stated that TPAO will shortly open an office in Baghdad, possibly during a visit by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, due in October.
Iraq held the first tender in late June, but only one deal -- involving British energy giant British Petroleum (BP) and China's CNPC International Ltd -- was struck when five other oil fields and two gas sites were also offered for development. It was the first time Iraq's oil industry had been opened to foreign companies since nationalization four decades ago.
Print This Page
Email This Link
