BAGHDAD: Iraq will offer 12 oil and gas exploration sites later this year in a fourth energy auction since mid-2009, oil ministry spokesman Assem Jihad told AFP Wednesday."The ministry is getting ready to offer 12 exploration sites for auction this year," Jihad said, noting that the fields included both oil and gas resources, but did not specify how many of each.
"We hope this will be finished this year, this will be the fourth bidding round," he added.Jihad also said that draft contracts for gas fields auctioned to foreign energy companies late last year would be finalised later this month.
Iraq currently produces around 2.5 million barrels of oil per day, with around 80 percent of those being exported. Both figures are expected to rise dramatically in the coming years after two oil field auctions in 2009 led to 11 contracts being signed with international firms.Oil revenues account for 90 percent of Iraq's government income.
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