Iraq Announces First Bidding Round Results

International oil companies have been formally invited to bid for Iraqi oil contracts following a first round of bidding results.

The Iraqi Oil Ministry has announced the full list of companies - including BP, BG Group, Shell, CNOOC and ExxonMobil - which have qualified to bid for exploration and production contracts.

Iraq's oil reserves, currently at 115 billion barrels, are the world's third largest after Saudi Arabia and Iran.

By staff writer