Iraqi Oil Minister Abdul Kareem Luaibi said that multinational energy and oil exploration company ExxonMobil would be offering its stakes in the West Qurna-1 to oil firms in China and Indonesia. When asked on the sidelines of a ministerial meeting how much in stake ExxonMobil sold to PetroChina and Indonesia's Pertamina, he said, "25 percent to Petro China and 10 percent to Pertamina,"
The minister also said that the sale could be completed in as early as two weeks. The American oil company currently owns a 60% stake in the first oilfield at West Qurna.
Sources from the Industry and both companies had earlier said that both PetroChina and Pertamina would be joining the American firm in exploring West Qurna-1. In order to develop the oilfield, ExxonMobil would need to spend USD 50 billion. Should the deal go through, it would make PetroChina the single biggest foreign investor in Iraqi's oil industry, Reuters reported.
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