Iraq signed an oilfield development agreement with Tunisia Tuesday, January 22, providing for the exploration of the Al-Kifil oilfield in Iraq's southern province of Najaf, the official Iraqi News Agency, INA reported.
Under the terms of the protocol, Tunisian firms will be invited to develop the oilfield with an expected capacity of 40,000 barrels per day (bpd). “Iraq gives priority to fellow Arab countries in signing contracts and agreements to build a strong base for an integrated Arab economy," Iraqi Oil Minister Amir Muhammad Rashid stated.
Tunisia and Iraq signed a free-trade agreement (FTA) in February 2001, part of a larger initiative to establish a comprehensive Arab free trade zone. Iraq has two similar agreements with Egypt and Syria. Before the signing of the FTA, Tunis and Baghdad were already cooperating under several commercial contracts authorized by the United Nations (UN) oil-for-food program. Tunisia’s government has urged the UN to lift the sanctions imposed on Iraq the country since its invasion of Kuwait in 1990. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
