20.07.10 Iraq Focus Iraq to alter signature bonus for Rumaila oil field

Rumaila oil field, Iraq (Getty)

Iraqi government has implored BP and its Chinese partner CNPC to turn their signature bonus for Rumaila oil field into an unrecoverable, lower payment rather than a soft loan.

"We have asked from them (BP and CNPC) to convert the $500 million recoverable to $100 million unrecoverable... in line with the rest of the contracts. If it stayed as a soft loan, we have to get parliament's approval for it, and there is no (functioning) parliament right now, " said, director of Iraq's oil ministry's licensing office, Abdul-Mahdy al-Ameedi.

Additionally, Iraqi oil minister Hussein al-Shahristani urged international oil producers to honour the contracts they have signed, and said that they needed to,"prove to the whole world that your are able and committed to implement these deals".

BP and CNPC paid a $500 million signature bonus due on the contract they won last year, to develop Iraq's Rumaila oil field. There were 11 contracts awarded in total, several to other international oil companies including Shell and Exxon Mobil who promised to add around 10 million b/d of capacity to Iraq's existing 2.5 million b/d by 2017.

Source: Reuters

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