BG Looks To Southern Kurdistan Gas Field
March 11, 2007
BG Group looks set to become the first major Western energy group to invest in
Kurdistan Region.
Representatives of the oil and gas group are
believed to have visited the country to examine exploration opportunities.
They looked at sites for gas exploration in the
Kurdish-controlled north.
Ashti Hawrami, the Kurdish regional government
minister of natural resources, says the region will have signed agreements with
10 new companies by the end of the year.
Despite the ongoing hostilities, Iraq has long
been on the radar of the world's majors who are under pressure to replenish
their oil and gas reserves.
The country has the world's largest petroleum reserves after Saudi Arabia and
much of it is simple to extract, says The Sunday Telegraph.
Since 2003, there have been more than 380
attacks on Iraq's oil assets.
Although some oil giants have privately
identified areas in the country where they would like to explore, none have so
far taken the plunge, says the newspaper.
Analysts believe output could reach between 5m
and 6m barrels a day over the next two decades once new investment and
infrastructure is in place.
BG Group declined to comment on Iraq, but said
it was "looking at a number of opportunities across the Middle East".
