Sharjah oil firm signs MOU with Iraqi Ministry (28/09/05)

Sharjah-based Crescent Petroleum yesterday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Oil Expoloration Company (OEC) of Iraq, a division of the Iraqi Ministry of Oil. The agreement is one of the first of its kind with an Arab oil company.

Cresent Petroleum has signed the agreement with a company working on behalf of Iraq's Ministry of Oil

The agreement covers technical cooperation and training, and includes an exploration and appraisal study on an area assigned for Crescent by OEC in the Missan Province in southern Sudan. The initial cost of the study and requirements set for it are expected to exceed $1 million, to be fully funded by Crescent. Both parties anticipate the MOU to be the first of several agreements to be reached between each other.

The agreement was signed at Crescent's Sharjah headquarters by Mr Honer Nazhat, Director-General of OEC and Mr Paul Keighley, General Manager of Crescent Petroleum.

Also present at the signature were the Head of the Contracts and Agreements Department at the OEC, the General Manager of Crescent's Baghdad Office and a number of other company executives.

"We are very pleased to be expanding our relationship with Crescent, a relationship which goes back many years. We hope this agreement will open many new avenues for enhanced cooperation between the two sides," said the Mr Nazhat.

Crescent has already carried out detailed studies on other areas in Iraq, notably the Ratawi oil-field in Southern Iraq where it has also undertaken detailed negotiations for a $1 billion field development programme. Crescent has also been engaged in the training of personnel from the Iraqi Ministry of Oil and its affiliate companies, for the strengthening of ties and the sharing of knowledge.

Source: AME Info