Exxon Mobil is in negotiations to sell 5 percent of its stake in Iraq's West Qurna-1 oilfield to Abu Dhabi's state-run investment fund Mubadala, part of the US major's moves to reduce its exposure there, Iraqi oil officials have said.
Any sale of a part of West Qurna would follow Exxon's decision last year to sell its stake in the $60bn field after upsetting Iraq's central government by signing deals with the country's autonomous Kurdistan region.
Iraq's central government had told the US oil company it would have to choose between West Qurna and the Kurdistan oil deals, but Baghdad still offered Exxon sweeter terms in an attempt to keep it working in the southern oilfield.
"Exxon is staying in West Qurna-1 at least until next year, but at same time the company is moving ahead to cut its share in the West Qurna project to shift focus to other projects," said one Iraqi oil official without giving details.
No comments:
Post a Comment