RusEnergy

MOSCOW, July 18 (RIA Novosti) - The status of contracts of Russian companies operating in Iraq are likely to change in the near future, according to a Russian Industry and Energy Ministry spokesman. An international conference opened on Monday for countries contributing to the reconstruction of Iraq, including representatives from more than 60 countries along with international organizations including the UN and the World Bank "In the near future we can expect changes to the status of the 'frozen' contracts of Russian companies in Iraq," the ministry spokesman said. The contracts of Russian companies signed under Saddam Hussein were frozen before the new government was formed in Iraq. "The new Iraqi government was formed earlier this year, and we can now expect it to reconsider the status of Russian contracts in the country," the spokesman said. On the subject of the Western Kurna oil field in Iraq, which is owned by the Russian company LUKoil, the spokesman said, "This is a business issue involving relations between LUKoil and the Iraqi government and should be addressed by those parties." According to the Industry and Energy Ministry, Russian companies in Iraq are interested mainly in energy and energy infrastructure projects. "Russian businesses in Iraq are also interested in construction projects - service contracts and contracts for rebuilding the country's infrastructure," the spokesman said. However, a serious obstacle to the development of Russian companies' operations in Iraq is the unstable situation in the country. "Russian specialists cannot be guaranteed sufficient safety, which makes work more difficult," the spokesman said. "One of our stipulations is that they do not work in Baghdad's 'green zone.'" "Although safety issues are a serious problem for Russian companies, they are nevertheless showing a strong interest in Iraqi contracts."