Honouring deals

As the US tries to re-establish civil, political and economic order in Iraq, several oil companies that signed agreements with the previous regime are waiting to see if their deals will be honoured by a new administration. One such company, Petrel Resources, is confident it will be working in Iraq as soon as order is restored, writes David Townsend

WE WILL BE in on the first flight back, claims David Horgan, managing director of Petrel Resources, the Irish independent. His company had agreed two contracts with the Iraqi government before the war and Horgan says he has not received any indications suggesting these will not be honoured in a post-Saddam Hussein Iraq. The first contract dates back to 1999 and a tender that Petrel won to refurbish and expand two adjacent, established oilfields, Subbha and Luhais, in the south of the country. As part of the second contract, it was also awarded a new oil exploration block in the Western Desert. We expect our contracts to be confirmed and we have received no indications to the contrary either