BAGHDAD, March 30 - Iraq's South Oil Company on Monday issued a tender for the drilling of 45 new oil wells in its super giant South Rumaila oilfield.
The 30 producer wells and 15 injection wells, tendered on a turnkey rate basis, should be completed within 25 months, according to the tender posted on the state-owned company's website.
"This tender is a part of the urgent plan ordered by the Iraqi oil minister to raise production rates in the southern fields," said a senior engineer with the South Oil Company, who asked not to be identified.
"There will be more tenders in the coming days."
Bids must be received by April 23.
Iraq sits on the world's third biggest oil reserves but decades of war, international sanctions, sabotage and a lack of investment means its fields are underexploited.
The government is almost entirely dependent on oil exports for revenues and the decline in oil prices is starving it of the funds needed to rebuild after the years of violence that followed the 2003 U.S.-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein.
Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani and other government officials have called for a swift increase in currently slack output levels of around 2.3-2.4 million barrels per day.
The 30 producer wells and 15 injection wells, tendered on a turnkey rate basis, should be completed within 25 months, according to the tender posted on the state-owned company's website.
"This tender is a part of the urgent plan ordered by the Iraqi oil minister to raise production rates in the southern fields," said a senior engineer with the South Oil Company, who asked not to be identified.
"There will be more tenders in the coming days."
Bids must be received by April 23.
Iraq sits on the world's third biggest oil reserves but decades of war, international sanctions, sabotage and a lack of investment means its fields are underexploited.
The government is almost entirely dependent on oil exports for revenues and the decline in oil prices is starving it of the funds needed to rebuild after the years of violence that followed the 2003 U.S.-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein.
Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani and other government officials have called for a swift increase in currently slack output levels of around 2.3-2.4 million barrels per day.
