Total has announced that it has acquired 80 per cent stake in an oil exploration block in Kurdistan Region of Iraq
The remaining 20 per cent of the Baranan Block will be owned by the Kurdistan Regional Government.
Total said in a statement, “This participation in an operated exploration block was contemplated at the time Total made its move in Kurdistan Region of Iraq last summer.”
In June 2012, the French energy company announced the acquisition of a 35 per cent interest in Harir and Safen oil exploration blocks in Kurdistan Region of Iraq, an area that oil majors such as Total, ExxonMobil and Chevron view as providing lucrative production-sharing deals and better operating conditions than in the south region, according to Wall Street Journal.
Chevron authorities recently said the firm had completed a deal to acquire a new oil exploration block in Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
Unlike Total and ExxonMobil, Chevron doesn’t have stakes in central and southern Iraq, industry sources said.
