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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Iraqi oil for sale in TV auction | Iraqi oil for sale in TV auction |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Iraq has begun selling contracts to run six oil fields and two gas fields in a televised auction, which is its first big tender since the invasion of 2003. | Iraq has begun selling contracts to run six oil fields and two gas fields in a televised auction, which is its first big tender since the invasion of 2003. |
| The 20-year contracts have attracted bids from 31 oil firms including Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell and Total. | The 20-year contracts have attracted bids from 31 oil firms including Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell and Total. |
| Iraqi officials say firms from nations involved in the 2003 invasion will be neither favoured nor disadvantaged. | Iraqi officials say firms from nations involved in the 2003 invasion will be neither favoured nor disadvantaged. |
| The auction was originally planned for Monday but had to be delayed because of sandstorms in Baghdad. | The auction was originally planned for Monday but had to be delayed because of sandstorms in Baghdad. |
| "Our principal objective is to increase our oil production from 2.4 million barrels per day to more than four million in the next five years," Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani told Iraqi public television. | "Our principal objective is to increase our oil production from 2.4 million barrels per day to more than four million in the next five years," Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani told Iraqi public television. |
| Iraq has the world's third-largest proven oil reserves with 115 billion barrels, of which the fields up for auction account for about 43 billion barrels. | |
| But there has been some controversy about the auction, with members of the Iraqi parliament objecting to not having the chance to approve the deals. |