June 19, 2008 – Iraq’s oil ministry says the country is close to signing oil service agreements with major international oil companies to boost its output capacity.
Once these Technical Support Agreements are signed, they will be the first major contracts which Iraq has undertaken with the majors since the 2003 US-led invasion to Iraq toppled Saddam Hussein’s regime.
Ministry spokesman Assem Jihad told The Associated Press in a telephonic interview on Thursday that the companies are submitting their proposals which will be reviewed and sent to the Iraqi Cabinet for final approval.
Jihad said the names of the companies would be announced June 30.
