Iraq holds 2nd oil auction

BAGHDAD: International oil companies vied Friday for the biggest slice of Iraq's oil riches on offer in decades, with Iraqi officials hoping the firms will look beyond persistent security fears and strike deals crucial for the country's reconstruction efforts.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, at the start of the auction Friday, looked to allay oil executives concerns about the bombings and other incidents that have come to define his oil-rich nation after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein.

"There is no security deterioration in Iraq even if a security violation took place here," al-Maliki told officials and company representatives gathered at Iraq's Oil Ministry under extremely tight guard.

And at least two consortiums appeared poised to do take him at his word — tempted by a chance to tap into one of the Middle East's last major cheap oil bonanzas.

One led by European oil giant Shell won the rights to develop the southern Majnoon oil field — the biggest of the 15 fields on offer in the two-day licensing round. A second consortium led by the China National Petroleum Corp., or CNPC, won the rights to the Halfaya field, also in the south.

In this two-day round, 15 fields are on offer, representing about a third of Iraq's known reserves. But a wave of attacks across Baghdad earlier this week killed at least 127 people and shook confidence in the abilities of Iraq security forces as U.S. troops depart.

A total of 45 firms are vying for 20-year contracts to develop the 15 fields, spanning from northern Iraq to major fields in the Basra region in the south like Majnoon and Halfaya. They include many Western giants like Exxon Mobil Corp. and Britain's BP PLC, as well as state-backed companies from Asia.

The second round is scheduled for Saturday.