Abdul-Mahdi: We identified 90% of the dues licensing rounds, companies and their expenditures will be greatly reduced

02/10/2016 12:01:00 am

The Minister of Oil, Adel Abdul Mahdi, on Tuesday, to identify 90 percent of the expenses and accruals licensing rounds in the current 2016 contract companies, and among these costs would be "significantly lower" than I was earlier, economists stressed that the amendment of licensing rounds contract provides to balance the country huge amounts of money.
Said Abdul-Mahdi, in an interview to the (long-Presse), "The ministry is moving their negotiations with companies winning contracts for licenses to reduce the cost of crude oil production rounds."

The minister added that "efforts are currently focused on reaching the end of the negotiations and assess the costs and benefits of the current 2016, where we got to identify 90 percent of those expenses," stressing that "the benefits that have been identified much less than it was previously."
The Committee on Energy parliamentary, confirmed in (the 21st of January 2016), support for the ongoing talks between the oil ministry and international companies operating in Iraq to modify the terms of the licensing rounds, as a result of the continued decline of global prices, indicating that there are demands for Iraq and other companies and they can agree to "mutual benefit" .
He was a member of the oil and parliamentary power, Mazen Mezni, said in an interview to the (long-Presse), in (the 19 of January 2016), the oil companies want to extend their contracts with Iraq from 25 to 50 years, as a condition to re-examine contracts licensing rounds, indicating that those contracts certified by the United Nations and that any attempt to revise them will lead to the loss of Iraq.
For his part, economist said Uday Abdul Amir Amer in an interview for the "long", "The Iraqi government represented by the Ministry of Oil announced some time ago its intention to re-negotiate with the oil companies invested because of lower oil prices and the high cost of production."
He added that "the ministry is able to reduce the cost of production of crude oil in line with current prices because of its considerable experience in the field of oil energy accumulated over the decades."
He explained Amer that "foreign oil companies took advantage of some of the terms of the agreement with the federal government to spend a lot of money in the sub-issues such as transport and the provision of housing for the experts and their workers in the oil fields in addition to the expected increase in production, said the" re-evaluate the terms of the licensing rounds provides large sums of money to the Iraqi treasury, the government can use them to bridge part of the annual budget deficit. "
Amer confirmed that "the licensing rounds, an agreement was signed when the price of a barrel of oil of about $ 120, so I did not notice the Iraqi negotiator to the extent of moving to the price of a barrel of oil extracted in the case of low-cost global price."
"The financial crisis experienced by the country prompted the Oil Ministry to re-negotiate to reduce the escalating production costs fall inversely with the price per barrel."
The Oil Ministry, confirmed in (the twentieth of January 2016), continuing its consultation "Pacific" with international companies operating in Iraq to amend the contracts concluded with them and reduce field development costs, usually the "random statements" launched by some quarters against the ministry "does not serve" country and give the "wrong messages" to investors.
The Committee on Oil and parliamentary power attacked, in (the 13th of December, the last in 2015), the oil ministry because of licensing rounds which it signed with foreign companies contracts, and confirmed that the contract was extended from 20 to 25 years and reduced government partner's share, while the ministry blamed the rise in production costs oil because of those contracts.
The international oil company BP, working in Rumaila revealed in (the tenth of November the past), to provide international oil companies operating in Iraq proposals to the Iraqi side, to make adjustments to their contracts productivity, indicating that the Iraqi Oil Ministry, demanded to reduce project expenditures development as a result of the deterioration of oil prices.

Link