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Iraq may blacklist Sinopec after Addax deal

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-08-26 08:04

ISTANBUL: Iraq's Oil Ministry will blacklist China's Sinopec Corp. and prohibit it from competing in a second bidding round for oilfield tenders if it confirms its purchase of Swiss oil explorer Addax Petroleum Corp., a senior Iraqi oil official said on Monday.

Deputy Oil Minister Abdul Karim Louaibi told Reuters the ministry had sent Sinopec a letter asking it about Addax, which is among foreign oil firms that have signed independent oil deals with semi-autonomous Kurdish authorities in northern Iraq.

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"The Oil Ministry is committed to not dealing with any oil company that signs oil contracts (with the Kurdish Regional Government) without the approval of the central government and Iraqi Oil Ministry," Louaibi said in Istanbul. "The reaction of the ministry will be clear, Sinopec will be blacklisted."