VIENNA, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Iraq is considering inviting the most aggressive bidders to rebid for some of its giant oilfields after it failed to award deals at an auction in June, the country's oil minister said on Wednesday.
'The two or three companies who made the best offers will be invited to another round -- that is one option. I cannot say if we can make a decision by the end of this month but we have to make a decision soon,' Hussain al-Shahristani said.
A BP-led consortium was the only foreign group to strike a deal in the June auction, which was the first since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003.
The minister was speaking ahead of an OPEC meeting in Vienna. Keywords: OPEC BID/ (OPEC newsroom) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
'The two or three companies who made the best offers will be invited to another round -- that is one option. I cannot say if we can make a decision by the end of this month but we have to make a decision soon,' Hussain al-Shahristani said.
A BP-led consortium was the only foreign group to strike a deal in the June auction, which was the first since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003.
The minister was speaking ahead of an OPEC meeting in Vienna. Keywords: OPEC BID/ (OPEC newsroom) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
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