Exxon Puts Iraq Field Up for Sale With Debt Mountain Looming
- Iraq talking to U.S. rivals about buying Exxon’s stake
- Exxon won rights to rehabilitate West Qurna-1 in 2010
Photographer: Assaad al-Niyazi/AFP/Getty Images
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Exxon Mobil Corp. is considering selling its stake in Iraq’s West Qurna-1 oil field in a sign that the supermajor is willing to part with one its marquee oil fields in the Middle East to reduce the mountain of debt accumulated last year.
Iraq’s oil ministry took the unusual step of saying it’s in talks with U.S. companies about the possibility of them buying Exxon’s 32.7% stake in the field in southern Iraq, near the city of Basra. China’s oil giants China National Petroleum Corp. and CNOOC Ltd. were considering buying the stake, Bloomberg News reported last year.