Kurdistan unhappy as Baghdad opens upstream

THE IRAQI oil ministry opened six oilfields to foreign companies yesterday in an attempt to boost production to 4.5m b/d by 2013. The announcement will trigger a rush of bidding by companies eager to tap the world's third largest oil reserves. The ministry also hopes soon to sign short-term agreements with a handful of majors in the interim in an effort quickly to increase production by 0.5m b/d.