BP, Shell and ExxonMobil are all expected to attend a meeting at the Park Lane Hotel in Mayfair with the Iraqi oil minister, Hussein al-Shahristani for the first round of bidding for new contracts. Access is being given to eight fields, representing about 40 per cent of the Middle Eastern nation's reserves. It is the first time since the 2003 US-led invasion that the contracts have been released.The sale is likely to spark debate over whether the overthrow of Saddam Hussein was part of a "war for oil" that has now delivered strategic Iraqi reserves into the hands of western multinationals. As security improves, Iraq is trying to bring in foreign companies to help increase crude output from the current 2.5 million barrels a day to 4.5 million barrels a day by the end of 2013.
Iraqi Oil Ministry spokesman Assem Jihad said the purpose of the London meeting was to present the oil companies with the forms of the contracts and with data and details for fields being offered. "In light of these information, the companies will be in a better position to submit their bids which are planned to be approved by next summer," he said. The ministry will give the companies a six-month timetable from the receipt of data and other details to submit bids for a 20-year contract.