Rumaila deal ready to be signed says oil official

The Rumaila oilfield in Iraq. (Getty Images)

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Commercial terms for the super giant Rumaila field in the Basra region of Iraq have been agreed by BP, CNPC International and Baghdad and the contracts are now expected to be signed within the next few weeks.

The 20-year development contract for Rumaila was the only production deal to come from the first round of oil auctions in Iraq and is believed to be costing the principal companies involved in the consortium an investment of between US$14 billion to $20 billion.

Middle East Economic Survey (MEES) said that there has been some changes made to the initial percentage stakes held by the companies. BP has decided to cut it’s stake by 12% to 38% while CNPC has increased its stake from 25% to 37%. The remaining 25% is owned by Iraq and has been allocated to Iraq state marketer SOMO.

"We have more or less finished with the outstanding points. Hopefully, there will be a signing within a couple of weeks," MEES quotes deputy oil minister Abdulkareem al-Leaby as saying.

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Oil production from Rumaila is expected to rise from the current level of around 1 million barrels per day (bpd) to 2.85 million bpd.

Iraq is hoping that the second round of auctions, taking place in December, will be more successful than the first.