Iraq - Which company will win the bidding for the Basra oil field of West Qurna?

Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM), teaming up with Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA), presented the best bid for Iraq's West Qurna phase 1 oil field in southern Iraq Tuesday, Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani said.

Exxonmobil, the leader of the consortium, had asked for a remuneration of $4 on each extra barrel of oil produced.

It said it would raise production to 2.325 million barrels a day from the current level of 280,000 barrels a day.

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200906300900DOWJONESDJONLINE000321_FORTUNE5.htm

The oil ministry has set a maximum remuneration of $1.90 a barrel for the field and has given the two oil giants 45 minutes to consider the Iraqi terms on the remuneration.

Exxon Mobil Rejects Terms For Iraq W Qurna-1 Field - Oil Min

Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM), teaming up with Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA), Tuesday rejected the Iraq Oil Ministry's remuneration terms for the southern West Qurna phase 1 oil field, Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani said.

After consultations the consortium decided not to accept the Ministry's terms of a maximum remuneration of $1.90 a barrel of extra oil produced. The two oil giants had asked for remuneration of $4 on each extra barrel and said it would raise production to 2.325 million barrels a day from the current level of 280,000 barrels a day.

A consortium led by China National Petroleum Corp. has now been given 20 minutes to decide if it will accept $1.90 a barrel instead of the $2.60 a barrel it had proposed in its bid.

Petronas of Malaysia (5681.KU) and Japen Petroleum Exploration a (1662.TO) are also in the CNPC consortium.

West Qurna has crude oil reserves estimated at 8.6 billion barrels.

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20090630-707897.html

Chevron backs out of Iraq's oil auction

Chevron had been expected to bid for the second largest oil field covered by Tuesday's auction, the West Qurna field near Basra. Working with French oil giant Total, Chevron had been discussing the field with Iraqi officials for more than a year. But in the end, Chevron decided not to bid.

"We have done so based upon our careful evaluation of the opportunities against Chevron's standard investment criteria and our inventory of investment projects worldwide," the company reported Tuesday in a prepared statement.

Chevron may bid in future rounds, the company said. Press reports this year said the oil ministry had invited Chevron to bid on the Nahr bin Umar oil field nearby, which will be handled in another auction.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/06/30/BU7718GKJ4.DTL

ATTENTION TO ALL WAGERERS ON THESE IRAQI OIL FIELD QUESTIONS

It appears that most all of the bids are being submitted, not by the individual companies as listed, but by consortiums, led by one particular company, depending upon the field.

This question will be settled based on which company is the LEAD company in the consortium. Only if there is another company involved as the lead company, or if there is a 50/50 split between two companies in the deal would the settlement be 'other outcome'

This market has been reopened to allow for continued wagering and adjustments of positions. It may be extended beyond the current Sunday deadline if need be, depending upon the scheduling of bidding events.