Iraq launch on 30 and 31 May 2012 its fourth postwar bidding round for oil and natural gas exploration, with 39 foreign energy companies registered to compete for exploration rights in a dozen areas of the country.
Conditions for bidders are less attractive than in the three previous rounds.Only areas with undetermined hydrocarbon resources are on offer, while previously the rights to known big and medium oil and gas fields were being auctioned off. Operating costs for energy companies could be high because most of the 12 exploration blocks are in remote and unsafe areas and lack infrastructure.
The Iraqi Oil Ministry approved 47 international energy companies to participate in two days of bidding on Wednesday and Thursday, but only 39 companies paid the participation fee.
Top among the approved companies are the Anglo-Dutch Royal Dutch Shell, UK's BP, Chevron and Occidental of the U.S., China's CNOOC and CNPC, Japan's Japex, Russia's Lukoil and others.
The first day of Iraq’s fourth energy auction resulted in just one successful bid, with four of the six exploration fields receiving no bids.