Iraq Seeks Bids to Develop Gas Field

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BAGHDAD (AP) — The Iraqi Oil Ministry said on Sunday that it had invited local and international oil companies to bid for contracts, including one to develop a natural gas field in a Sunni area in the western part of the country.

The ministry has set a deadline of April 24 for companies to submit detailed plans to help develop the Akkas gas field in the former Sunni insurgent stronghold of Anbar province, the ministry said on its Web site. The Akkas field has estimated reserves of more than 2.15 trillion cubic feet.

Most of Iraq’s vast petroleum wealth is located in the Kurdish north and Shiite south. Development of the Akkas field could bolster the economy in Sunni areas, where support for the government remains tenuous.

It could produce up to 50 million cubic feet a day as a first stage. That could be increased to 500 million cubic feet a day, which could be pumped through Syria to consumers in Europe.