The Iraqi oil ministry is holding a meeting in August to brief international oil companies on Iraq's second licensing round to award long-term contracts to develop some of the country's untapped oil and gas fields, a senior ministry official said Friday.
"We are planning a roadshow meeting in Istanbul next month," Abdul Mahdy al-Ameedi, deputy director-general at the oil ministry's petroleum contracts and licensing directorate, or PCLD, told Dow Jones Newswires.
Data packages and model contracts for the second bidding round, featuring 10 oil fields and one gas field, including the super-giant West Qurna phase 2, Majnoon and East Baghdad, are expected to be ready after the meeting in Turkey, Ameedi said.
Development of these fields could add a further 2 million barrels a day to current Iraq's production of 2.4 million barrels a day.
The PCLD is also planning to hold a workshop for companies in November before holding the auction in December, he added. But Ameedi said the bidding process could be accelerated. "We are hoping to expedite the process so that we can actually sign the contracts by the end of the year."