Iraqi Kurds sign 7 oil deals; Reliance among contractors

BAGHDA: Iraq's Kurdish region has defiantly signed seven new foreign oil deals, including one with India's Reliance Energy Ltd, in a move sure to anger Baghdad, which opposes the unilateral sell-off of crude blocs in the absence of a national oil law.

The autonomous Kurdish Regional Government said in a statement posted on its website on Wednesday that two production sharing contracts have been signed with ORV Petroleum Exploration, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Europe's OM Aktiengesellschaft.

The deals relate to the Mala Omar and Shorish blocks in the province of Arbil, the statement said.

Separately, the Akre-Bijeel block in the Dohuk province has been awarded to Kalegran Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of MOL Hungarian Oil and Gas Plc and Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd, a subsidiary of Britain's Gulf Keystone.

The Shaikan block, also in Dohuk, has been awarded to Gulf Keystone, Texas Keystone and Kalegran.

The Rovi and Sarta blocks were granted to India's Reliance Energy Ltd, it said, without specifying where the blocks are located.

Another block in Dohuk province has been awarded to a Western company, the statement said without giving any further details.

It added that four strategic blocks in Sulaimaniyah and Arbil provinces were granted to the Kurdistan Exploration and Production Company, a government-owned firm.

The regional administration said that 85 per cent of the returns from the foreign deals would be for Iraq and the rest would go to the contractor.

The KRG's minister for natural resources Ashti Hawrami said with the signing of the latest contracts, 20 international oil companies are now working in the region.