India’s Reliance Industries (RIL) is in race along with French energy giant Total, Russia’s Lukoil, CNPC of China, American’s Brown Energy for a $4 billion project in Iraq.
RIL is one of the seven companies shortlisted by Iraq for developing its al-Nassiriya oilfield and construction and operation of a 300,000 barrel per day refinery.
Russia’s Zarubezhneft and Japan’s JGC & Tonen General are also in the race for the project. These firms are shortlisted from a list of 14 that had applied to acquire the contract.
This is RIL’s second attempt in entering into a business contract with Iraq. In 2007, RIL’s Dubai based wing Reliance Exploration and Production DMCC had taken a 100 percent stake in the Rovi and Sarta blocks of Kurdistan.
The Iraqi government would hold initial meeting with the qualified companies in the first quarter of 2013 and the final award will happen by the end of calendar 2013.
During the meeting, the data package and contract terms may be decided. The project cost of the integrated oilfield and the refinery, which is half the size of RIL’s Jamnagar refinery, will depend on the kind of incentives and tax breaks Iraq would provide.
Analysts feel that RIL, which has the surplus cash, is in a better position to secure the project.
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