Middle East Economic Survey

VOL. LII

No 27

6-Jul-2009

Baghdad Ambushes Upstream Investors With Fees Demands

Bidders in Iraqs landmark first upstream bidding round on 30 June were left shell-shocked by Baghdads aggressive terms. Not one of the 15 initial bids for the eight projects on offer came anywhere close to matching the Ministry of Oils maximum threshold fee for incremental barrels produced. A revised offer from BP and its partner CNPC subsequently matched the ministrys demands, winning for...