Petrel wins Iraqi oil contract

IRISH oil and gas exploration company Petrel Resources has won its first contract to drill for oil in Iraq.

The Dublin-based company said yesterday the Iraqi Ministry for Oil had awarded it a $197 million (€158m) three-year contract to extract oil and gas from the Subba and Luhais oil fields near the Saudi Arabia and Kuwaiti boarders. Until now, Petrel has only been testing the fields and has not extracted any oil for export.

Managing director David Horgan said: “This is a great moment for us. It is what we have been working towards for the past six years.”