BAGHDAD — Iraq and Russia signed three agreements yesterday for oil exploration and development in southern Iraq, officials said, glossing over a row after Baghdad broke an earlier contract with a Russian oil giant. The accords were sealed at the Iraqi Oil Ministry with representatives from the Russian Energy Ministry and two Russian oil companies.
A first accord was signed with the Russian company Stroitransgas-oil to explore and develop oil fields in the “Block.4” region in southwestern Iraq, and a second deal with the Soyuzneftgaz firm to develop the southern Al-Rafidain oil field. The two ministries also signed an initial agreement for future investments in oil exploration projects in the southern Nahr bin Omar region.
Iraq’s Deputy Oil Minister Hussein Sulaiman Al-Hadithi told reporters that the agreements “reflect the will of the Russian and Iraqi governments to pursue our good relations that date back more than 40 years. “We are very confident that Stroitransgas-oil will carry out the project during the set period and under the international embargo. This deal will help increase Iraq’s oil and gas reserves.
“Our relations with Russia are solid and are not linked to a company that has broken its obligations by five years,” he said in reference to Lukoil, which was recently ejected by Baghdad from a key development. (AFP)
