Russia’s Lukoil has awarded a mine clearing contract at Iraq’s West Qurna 2 oil field to G4S Risk Management, a division of the London-based G4S Ordnance Management, Lukoil said in a statement sent to Dow Jones Newswires.

Lukoil did not disclose the value of the contract, but said work should finish in early 2011, when oil drilling would start at the project.

It said 60 foreign and Iraqi experts as well as 40 sets of search equipment and 9 vehicles will work on the de-mining operation.

According to the Iraqi Regional Mine Action Committee, more than 27 million unexploded shells and mines remain on Iraq’s territory from its war with Iran in the 1980s, but Iraqi authorities said the West Qurna 2 area is not heavily mined.

West Qurna Phase 2 is being developed by the Russian company together with Norway’s Statoil. Lukoil holds a 56.25 percent stake in the project, Statoil 18.75 percent and the Iraqi state company holds the remaining 25%.

Under the terms of the 20-year-long service contract, Lukoil and Statoil are required to pump at a rate of 1.8 million barrels a day by 2017, for payment of $1.15 a barrel.

As we reported recently, Lukoil has issued tenders to drill new wells and carry out a 3D seismic survey.

(Source: Dow Jones)

Sunday 20th of June 2010, there was a real buzz in downtown Baghdad. Iraqi businessmen queued for hours to get through the security checks for the chance to discover American or British companies that could supply goods or services of quality.

The Baghdad Catalogue Show was an event that really demonstrated the strong desire and real will of reputable Iraqi businesses to trade with their US and UK partners. Over 100 people attended the half day event. Many had to be turned away due to the events limited capacity and advance registration process.

Many of the Iraqi businesses men in attendance of the event expressed their hope that trade relations with America and the UK would return to previous levels. The perception of superior quality and shared cultural values with the US and UK persists in modern day Iraq.

Part of any international companies’ overseas strategy must start by understanding the local operational environment and any event that can help companies to do that are critically important in assisting US & UK SME’s to successfully engage in the Iraqi market. The Catalogue Show was conceived as a preliminary step, combining the experience and expertise of Upper Quartile and G4S along with the trade support activities of the US Commercial Service. Catalogues are not sufficient to secure a long term business relationship especially in a country where face-to-face contact remain an essential element of business engagement but it has been a starting point for many of the businesses that took part in the Show.

Next year the Show will be bigger and better, with more private sector involvement from all 3 countries!