Plans to Open Iraqi Oil Fields Suffer Setback

BAGHDAD -- Oil negotiations between a handful of foreign companies and the government here appear stalled, setting back once again efforts to open up Iraqi oil fields to international companies.

A petroleum law that would provide a legal framework for foreign investment has long languished in Parliament. Still, momentum had built up in the spring and early summer for a series of limited so-called technical-service contracts negotiated between a group of major oil companies and the Iraqi Oil Ministry.

The deals, essentially consulting contracts, were limited in nature and small-scale by oil-industry standards. They were intended to serve as short-term deals that would halt or reverse declining production at a handful of specific fields, while tenders for longer-term technical contracts could be vetted.