The tiny Irish stock on the brink of landing 'the first' post-sanction oil deal in Iraq. Ref 'Fleet Street Letter' 12-04-04..

http://www.palladian-publications.com/Pipelines/Assets/NEAsi a.pdf

A report in English for you all gives reference to Japanese interests in the middle east through investments.

Of interest guys




Shell loses out in contest to develop Iraq's Kirkuk oil field

Terry Macalister
Thursday November 25, 2004
The Guardian

Shell has failed in a controversial attempt to win the first post-war contracts to develop oilfields in Iraq.
Hazim Sultan, Iraq's oilfield development director, said five companies had been shortlisted to evaluate the potential of the huge Kirkuk field in the north. A similar number are still in the race to study the Rumaila oilfields in the south. "I hope we will award the contracts for both projects within a month," he told Reuters.

Mr Sultan would not identify those companies still in the running for the deals. The issue is highly sensitive because of claims that the US and British invasion has been a "war for oil" that would only benefit the major energy companies.

Both Tony Blair and the energy industry itself insisted there was no economic self-interest at the heart of the decision to oust Saddam Hussein.

Both Shell and BP submitted bids for the work and the Anglo-Dutch group admitted last night that it had failed and BP said it had yet to hear.

"It's a decision for the ministry of oil. We respect that and we have no further comment to make," said a Shell spokesman. BP played down the significance of the work, arguing it was merely "reservoir engineering studies" that others believed was only worth $5m (2.7m) per contract.

Britain's biggest company denied there was any change in its former position of being wary about going into Iraq.

"This is technical work that could be done outside of Iraq. We would not be considering putting our own people into Iraq or becoming involved in a major scheme with the current air of uncertainty," BP said.


gra1969

www.ameinfo.com


Iraq shortlists major oil studies

Iraq has drawn up shortlists for its first post-war studies of its major oilfields, reported Reuters. Four to five companies will vie for the contract to evaluate the Kirkuk field, and five for the Rumaila oilfields in the south. Officials said contracts should be awarded within a month.

A lot seems to be being reported guys, this one is very interesting. A close watch on the sp today me thinks!!!!!!!!!!!
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Do we have to wait another 4 weeks, and there are more companies after these contracts then i thought.

Just keep everything on hold and watch! As there is news seeping out on contracts etc, good (pref) or not so good news could come at anytime!

the article above would suggest we have to wait a few more weeks, but it seems like very sloppy journalism, another article on the same subject goes into more detail, these do NOT look like the contracts PET have gone for, these are research contracts, NOT development contracts, full article below

Iraq Shortlists Five for Kirkuk Study FWN Select Wednesday, November 24, 2004


Iraq's oil ministry has shortlisted five companies to perform reservoir studies on the giant Kirkuk and Rumaila oil fields, and is aiming at awarding the two contracts by year-end, a senior Iraqi oil official told Energy Intelligence's Oil Daily Tuesday.

"Letters went out to five companies among those who bid for the Kirkuk study, inviting them to submit more details that would allow us to align the proposals and enter into detailed negotiations before selecting the winner," Hazem Sultan, director general of the ministry's reservoirs and field development department, told Oil Daily from Baghdad Tuesday.

The letters for the Kirkuk reservoir study were sent on Nov. 20 and companies were given until Nov. 30 to submit their new proposals. Sultan declined to name the shortlisted companies.

Another five companies were shortlisted for the North and South Rumaila fields new proposals. Sultan declined to name the shortlisted companies.

Another five companies were shortlisted for the North and South Rumaila fields study and letters are expected to go out today, Sultan said.

Shortlisted companies bidding for this contract will have until the first week of December to submit their revised bids. The new bids will take into consideration the modified scope of work, which having been significantly reduced, will cover only the first phase of a multiphase reservoirs study initially tendered by the ministry.

"This is a quick study which should not take more than a year to complete," Sultan said.

In a year's time, the ministry will review its options and decide how to proceed with the next stages, the official said. It also plans to conduct 3-D seismic in the meantime, in parallel with the quick studies, ahead of moving on to further reservoir studies.

Some 14 bids were submitted in August, with competitors including majors BP (BP) and Royal Dutch/Shell (RD, SC), as well as joint ventures of Italy's Eni (E) with Spain's Repsol YPF (REP), and Australian BHP Billiton (BHP) with Tigris Petroleum.

The majority of the bidders were oil engineering companies and consultants. These involved Schlumberger (SLB), Halliburton (HAL) subsidiary Landmark, RSK Group in partnership with Ryder Scott Petroleum Consultants, Canada's CMG, US-based De-Golyer and MacCMG, US-based De-Golyer and MacNaughton, the UK's Gaffney Cline, US Hyperion, Kvaerner of Norway, Exploration Consultants Ltd. of the UK, and France's Beicip, the consultancy affiliate of the Institut Francais du Petrole.

The work aims to give the Iraqi oil ministry its first comprehensive studies of its largest producing fields in the north and south, with a view to introducing the latest technologies to monitor reservoirs and collect data on their performance.

The production process will then be adjusted according to simulations based on the studies, in order to maximize recovery.

Industry sources estimate the cost of each contract at $3 million to $5 million. The reduced scope will aim at optimizing production from existing wells rather than plan for further increments in the future, one industry source said.

Under the former regime of Saddam Hussein, when Iraq was subject to sanctions, the fields were pushed to produce at maximum capacity without adequate maintenance.

The Kirkuk field was producing at close to 700,000 barrels per day when Saddam was in power, while the Rumaila fields supplied the majority of Iraq's output, at more than 1.2 million b/d.

Kirkuk - which has been producing since 1928 and has been declining in recent years, after reaching maturity - was last assessed by an outside company in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Reservoirs at the less mature North and South Rumaila fields were last assessed in the 1980s.

Here are the tenders for development NOT research

TENDERS FOR RE-DEVELOPMENT OF EXISTING OIL FIELDS

Petrel is shortly due to submit tenders to develop three oil fields in Iraq - Kirkuk, Hamrin and Subba / Luhais:

*
The Kirkuk tender to develop the Khurmala dome will be submitted by the end of March. Kirkuk is in Kurdestan but it is not in the Kurdish autonomous areas. The populace is ethnically mixed and inter-group relations seem businesslike. This is a proposal to design, build and commission a 120,000 barrel of oil daily facility. We believe that this production target is not particularly challenging, and that there is substantial upside. The reserves are proven, but there is no surface engineering on this dome. These are cash contracts, though a future sovereign government may convert them to risk-sharing arrangements. There are substantial targets at depth. The geology of the area is well understood: there are multiple source rocks, excellent reservoirs and seals. Oil and gas seepages in the area were observed from ancient times. Topography is hilly

*
The tender to develop the similarly sized Hamrin field in central Iraq will be submitted by April 15th. These reserves are also proven. As with Khurmala, dozens of relatively shallow wells have proven up the reserves. These wells are capped and the field has never produced, but geological risk is negligible. No surface engineering is present. Hamrin is in a predominantly Sunni Arab region north west of Baghdad. There is substantial unemployment in the area and local citizens are keen to develop their resources.

*
The updated tender for the Subba and Luhais joint field development of 120,000 barrels daily will be submitted by May 15th. There is surface engineering in place here, but it has been extensively damaged in the 1980s Iranian war. At peak, these two fields produced approximately 80,000 barrels. We believe that the targeted production is undemanding and that there is substantial upside from shallow reservoirs. Seismic reveals additional substantial structures at greater depth. These fields are in a desert north west of Basra in southern Iraq. Topography is flat. The area is predominantly Shia Arab. There has been little trouble post-war, though banditry is an issue in the region. Though damaged, infrastructure is reasonable, terrain is flat and export terminals relatively close.

Good Morning All!

I like the following:

"Mr Sultan would not identify those companies still in the running for the deals. The issue is highly sensitive because of claims that the US and British invasion has been a "war for oil" that would only benefit the major energy companies."

Mr Sultan has to substantiate what he says above. What better way of doing this than by awarding contracts to small and neutral cos such as Pet?

Tokyo

I think contracts are not those of Pet.

First, they are about "studies" : "it was merely "reservoir engineering studies" that others believed was only worth $5m (2.7m) per contract."
Pet's studies have been done and their contracts are about reconstruction of existing oil fields.

Second, the above contracts are worth $5m each. Why would Pet have financial backing of $250 million if it was to do with $5million contacts?

BTW what is your take about the sp today? You are becoming and expert at predicting mms plays with the sp: up am/down pm!

SP hammered so far!!!!!!!! im still holding to the end! this is almost the excuse the MM's were lookking for to hit us hard and pick up more on the cheap! of course, i will paddle like ###### to get more funds to top up!!!!! mad or what ha ha!

hemacik16 - You are correct, quickly went around the net to see what I could find, have posted the info here, to show that they were research contracts NOT development contracts, but quite a few panic sells this morning.

Tokyo

topped up at 98.4! no fod this week ha ha!

I cannot believe how evryone is on such a knife edge.

Getting a contract signed sealed and delivered in this industry is :-

1) Very Commercially and in this case Politically sensitive.
2) In this case , the logistical evaluation of the work implementation is very complicated.

To give you some idea of what it takes in the North Sea to be awarded a Contract after Tender you are Looking at averaging 9 Months .

With the complications in Iraq, I am amazed that the timescale looking back from first tender is as short as it is currently running.

Although the signs are Very Good , WE MUST ALL REMEMBER THIS IS VERY HIGH RISK , and that we are on a 3 sided dice instead of a six sided dice and if our side rolls in , then we are looking at big wins.

I don't normally gamble , but I do have a hunch on this one.

Is anybody having any trouble with streaming prices today.?

Aldwickk,

There are currently no problems with the streaming prices - what issues are you having at your end?

Ian

my only issue is that the sp is nt going up HA HA!!!!!!!!!!

sorry, but i just had to say as it really make me laugh!!!!!!!!

Just looking through my PET file and found the article about the contracts being awarded in November, also mentions the research projects from the article this morning, lets hope we truly do only have a few more days to wait.

Good luck all

Tokyo

Iraq to award oilfield development contacts in November: official
Dubai (Platts)--1Nov2004/110 am EST/610 GMT
Iraq has plans to award oilfield development contracts to multinational oil
companies in November, the head of the State Company for Oil Projects Ahmed
al-Shammaa told Platts Monday. The contracts are for the development of the
Khormala Dome in northern Iraq near Kirkuk and Hemrin located northeast of
Baghdad. "We expect to award the contracts in November and sign them in
December," Shammaa said. The contracts were discussed during a meeting between
oil companies and Iraqi oil officials, including a delegation from the State
Oil Marketing Organization, during a three-day meeting in Amman last week. He
also said there was some expectations that oil field development contracts in
the south could be finalized before the end of the year. Iraq's oil ministry
had received in August separate offers for technical studies on the Rumaila in
the south and Kirkuk oilfields in the north. The ministry had expected to
award the contact in late September to one of 14 companies bidding on the
deal, but security concerns pushed back the contacts award date indefinitely.

Hi all,
What a disappointment that nothing was forthcoming from the conference.
Do you guys think that we may still get word by the end of the month, as indicated?
My nerves are in shreds. Besides, I am supposed to be checking the final proofs for my novel and that has to sent in tomorrow. What a distraction all this is proving to be.
Sabine

Thans Tokyo, as per my previous post, the MM,s are taking full advantage of this situation. I am not at all phased, although my screen is on all day!. This will happen

Afternoon all,
I don`t think we have to worry about the lack of action for PET from these meetings as they are obviously not about the same contracts that PET are in the running for.

Firstly, the tenders PET put in were the first post Saddam contracts and were put out to tender the latter part of 2003, if my memory serves me right.
Secondly the Iraq procurement meetings are for further contracts, studies etc., remember that Shell said PET`s contracts(we hope!) were too small for them to consider, especially in the current security situation, adnlet`s face it it is worse now than when they were invited to tender !
Thirdly, PET did`nt send anyone to Amman, according to a reliable source anyway. Surely if they were handing out thore contracts they would have sent someone out there.
All IMO,
regards,
Dexter

ps. apologies if i`ve repeated anything but i have`nt been around much the last couple of days.