Iraq Awards $843 Million Power Contract to Weatherford

Iraq awarded an $843 million contract to Weatherford International Ltd. (WFT) to install six power generation plants at the Zubair oil field in the south of the country, State Minister Ali Al-Dabbagh said by telephone.

The plants will take 18 months to install, Dabbagh, also the government spokesman, said in an earlier statement today.

Zubair produces about 200,000 barrels a day, Idris al Yasiri, director general of state-run Iraq Drilling Co., said Nov. 3. A group led by Eni SpA (ENI) won a contract in 2010 to boost output at Zubair to 1.2 million barrels a day within six years and maintain that level for an additional seven years, according to a statement from the Rome-based company at the time.

Eni controls almost 33 percent of the group managing the Zubair project, as Iraq’s state-run Missan Oil Co. owns 25 percent, Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY) holds 23 percent and Korea Gas Corp. (036460) has almost 19 percent.

To contact the reporter on this story: Nayla Razzouk in Dubai at nrazzouk2@bloomberg.net; Khalid Al-Ansary in Baghdad at kalansary@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Shaji Mathew at shajimathew@bloomberg.net