The ministry will hold a workshop in Istanbul on August 1-2 to discuss details of the gas bidding round and contract terms with interested bidders.

Baghdad had said it will invite all 45 international companies, who were prequalified in the two oil auctions last year, to bid to develop three gas fields and the auction was to have taken place on September 1.

“It’s unlikely it will be at that time (September 1), to allow more time for... the companies,” oil ministry spokesman Asim Jihad told Reuters.  “I think there will be an extension for the period... It could be by the end of October or start of November, until now the date has not been agreed upon.” The fields on offer are Akkas in the western desert, Siba in the southern hub of Basra and Mansuriyah in eastern Iraq.

Kyle McEneaney, head of Ergo’s Middle East practice, an Iraq-focused research firm, said despite interest in Iraq’s gas reserves, there was some uncertainty regarding the auction.  “Discussions in Istanbul should help Iraq to calibrate the contract terms and set a new auction date; if these things happen, there will be more concrete interest. If not, expect more delays,” 
he said.

“The delay in forming a government has given investors in many sectors pause. Progress on this front will be positive generally for interest in gas projects; of course, it will be even more positive if the terms established in Istanbul are not roundly rejected in Baghdad.”

Iraq has no new government since a March election produced no outright winner.

Two of the gas fields to be tendered — the 2.1 trillion cubic feet Akkas field, and Mansuriyah with estimated reserves of 3.3 trillion cubic feet of gas — were unsuccessfully put on the auction block last year.  The third field — Siba — had initially been included in Iraq’s second oilfield auction in December but was taken out of the list of reservoirs on offer because the ministry decided it was small enough for Iraq to develop on its own.

Iraq has said companies such as Royal Dutch Shell, Total and South Korea’s KOGAS were favoured because of their experience.