Shell and Italy’s ENI company are among international firms vying for oil and gas concessions in Iraq as part of its fifth and sixth licensing rounds to be launched on 27 April, an Iraqi official was quoted on Tuesday as saying.

The remaining part of the 5th round, which was unveiled in 2023, includes 8 oil fields and 8 promising oil sites, said Mohammed Al-Saadi, assistant director of the contracts and licensing section at the Iraqi Oil Ministry.

The sixth round comprises 14 projects covering oil and gas sites across Iraq, Saadi told the official Iraqi daily Al-Sabah.

“The two rounds will be launched on April 27… we have sold 20 documents for these projects to foreign firms, including Shell and ENI,” he said.

(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@lseg.com)

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