BASRA, Iraq, August 17 - A technical team from oil major BP (BP.L) has met Iraqi oil engineers as part of preparations to sign a deal to develop Iraq's giant Rumaila field, senior Iraqi oil officials said on Monday.
Dhiya Jaafar, acting chief of Iraq's South Oil Co., said there were still some "technical issues" that needed to be resolved before BP and China's CNPC, its partner in the Rumaila deal, sign the development contract by the end-August deadline.
In July, BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward said his company expected to finalise the deal by the end of the year.
"We are still in the process of technical discussions and some issues concerning Rumaila deal need to be ironed out. Signing the contract depends on resolving these issues", Jaafar said, declining to give a timeline.
Rumaila is Iraq's largest producing oilfield, and was the only field to be awarded out of eight offered in Iraq's first bidding round for oil and gas field development contracts in June. Another bidding round is set for late November.
A source close to the meeting, held on Sunday at the South Oil Co.'s (SOC) headquarters in the southern city of Basra, said fears by some engineers that the Rumaila deal would see them marginalised by foreigners could stall its signing.
"Some oil engineers in the SOC insist that the new contract should not give BP the upper hand in running the Rumaila field," a senior SOC engineer who declined to be named told Reuters.
Such fears triggered a revolt by oil workers earlier this year against the Oil Ministry's contract bidding rounds. Former SOC boss Fayad al-Nema was replaced with new acting chief Jaafar soon afterwards.
Dhiya Jaafar, acting chief of Iraq's South Oil Co., said there were still some "technical issues" that needed to be resolved before BP and China's CNPC, its partner in the Rumaila deal, sign the development contract by the end-August deadline.
In July, BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward said his company expected to finalise the deal by the end of the year.
"We are still in the process of technical discussions and some issues concerning Rumaila deal need to be ironed out. Signing the contract depends on resolving these issues", Jaafar said, declining to give a timeline.
Rumaila is Iraq's largest producing oilfield, and was the only field to be awarded out of eight offered in Iraq's first bidding round for oil and gas field development contracts in June. Another bidding round is set for late November.
A source close to the meeting, held on Sunday at the South Oil Co.'s (SOC) headquarters in the southern city of Basra, said fears by some engineers that the Rumaila deal would see them marginalised by foreigners could stall its signing.
"Some oil engineers in the SOC insist that the new contract should not give BP the upper hand in running the Rumaila field," a senior SOC engineer who declined to be named told Reuters.
Such fears triggered a revolt by oil workers earlier this year against the Oil Ministry's contract bidding rounds. Former SOC boss Fayad al-Nema was replaced with new acting chief Jaafar soon afterwards.
