BAGHDAD, June 18 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi Oil Minister Hayan Abdul-Ghani on Sunday invited international energy companies to bid for contracts to explore and develop natural gas in 11 blocks in Iraq.
Of the 11 blocks eight are located in Anbar Province in western Iraq, one in the northern province of Nineveh, one in an area between the provinces of Anbar and Najaf, and one between Anbar and Nineveh, Abdul-Ghani said in a statement issued by the oil ministry.
The ministry has completed its preparations for the bidding round, he added.
Iraq opened its oil and gas sector for foreign investment in 2009.
In May, Abdul-Ghani said the country's oil reserves increased by 10 billion barrels and its natural gas reserves by eight trillion cubic feet after a three-dimensional seismic survey near Basra, a key oil hub located about 550 km south of the capital Baghdad.
The new figures would raise the proven reserves of Iraq's crude oil to about 155 billion barrels and natural gas to about 140 trillion cubic feet.
It is worth noting that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, of which Iraq is a member, has not officially adopted the new figures yet.
Iraq's economy heavily relies on crude oil exports, which account for more than 90 percent of the country's revenues. ■
