Iraq: Iraq Oil Minister Says $9 bln in Arrears Paid to Oil Firms

Aug 25, 2015 | Reuters
View Original

Iraq has paid foreign oil companies $9 billion in remaining arrears for 2014 and was paying outstanding fees for 2015 in stages until the beginning of next year, its oil minister said. Adel Abdel Mehdi wrote in the al-Adala newspaper that the ministry would study with foreign oil companies ways to reduce costs and link them to oil prices. International firms, such as BP, Royal Dutch Shell, , ExxonMobil, Eni and Lukoil operate in Iraq's southern oilfields under service contracts, whereby they are paid a fixed dollar fee for production.