NEW DELHI: Iraq has offered three discovered oil blocks to India and agreed to meet country's growing energy demand by raising crude oil supplies, oil minister Veerappa Moily said.
The three discovered oil blocks are located in the Middle Furat oilfields, he told reporters after returning from Baghdad and Ashgabat (Turkmenistan).
"During a bilateral meeting, the Iraqi side also agreed to immediately re-initiate negotiations with ONGC for finalising a decade-old contract for Block-8," the minister said.
The block was awarded to ONGC by the erstwhile Saddam Hussein regime, which the new government wanted to renegotiate. Iraq has also expressed interest in Indian Oil Corporation's greenfield Paradip refinery project, he said.
"Iraq is willing to increase oil supply to India and it has offered 60 days credit facilities," Moily said. "We import about 20 million tonnes per annum crude oil from Iraq and we plan to raise it to meet demands of new refineries," oil secretary Vivek Rae said.
Iraq is the second-biggest oil supplier to India after oil imports from Iran was cut because of western sanctions.
Moily also attended the Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India (TAPI) gas pipeline project's steering committee in Ashgabat and expressed hope that the four countries would soon engage an international energy major to manage the project.
indiatimes.com
The three discovered oil blocks are located in the Middle Furat oilfields, he told reporters after returning from Baghdad and Ashgabat (Turkmenistan).
"During a bilateral meeting, the Iraqi side also agreed to immediately re-initiate negotiations with ONGC for finalising a decade-old contract for Block-8," the minister said.
The block was awarded to ONGC by the erstwhile Saddam Hussein regime, which the new government wanted to renegotiate. Iraq has also expressed interest in Indian Oil Corporation's greenfield Paradip refinery project, he said.
"Iraq is willing to increase oil supply to India and it has offered 60 days credit facilities," Moily said. "We import about 20 million tonnes per annum crude oil from Iraq and we plan to raise it to meet demands of new refineries," oil secretary Vivek Rae said.
Iraq is the second-biggest oil supplier to India after oil imports from Iran was cut because of western sanctions.
Moily also attended the Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India (TAPI) gas pipeline project's steering committee in Ashgabat and expressed hope that the four countries would soon engage an international energy major to manage the project.
indiatimes.com
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