35 Firms OK'd to Bid on Iraq Oil Deals

Iraq Qualifies 35 International Oil Companies to Bid for Future Oil and Gas Contracts

AMMAN (AP) -- Thirty-five international oil companies have qualified to bid for future oil and gas contracts to develop one of the world's largest oil fields, an Iraqi oil ministry statement said Sunday.

"The total number of the companies and consortia that participated in the prequalification process was 120 from various nationalities," said the ministry's petroleum contracts and licensing office.

The office listed 35 companies that it said were qualified. They include, among others, BP PLC, Chevron Corp., Exxon Mobil Corp., Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Lukoil Holdings, China National Petroleum Corp., Edison International SpA and Eni SpA.

The contracts office, however, said it would continue updating the process of qualifying companies "especially those that didn't pass (the qualification process) by updating their information with the view to allowing as many as possible of the IOCs to participate in the next licensing round."