Russians to get first bite at Iraqi oil fields ?

Readers will know how obsessed I get with Mr Alekperov. Even the London based Financial Times has today noticed that Leonid Fedun, Lukoil’s vice-president, said in an interview: “This year we will be able to start specific negotiations to develop fields.” He added: “2006 for us is the year that we are very optimistic. Finally we have a legitimate government in Iraq.”

Lukoil has the major stake in the $3.8bn (€3bn, £2bn) West Qurna oilfield, for which it signed a contract in 1997. But Saddam Hussein, Iraq’s former president, severed the contract in late 2002, shortly before the US invasion that toppled him.
Mr Fedun said Lukoil – which has set up an office in Baghdad, organised training programmes for hundreds of Iraqi engineers in Russia and had discussions between the Iraqi Oil Ministry and the company’s executives, expects the contract to be honoured.

Conoco Phillips have of course got an interest in Lukoil and Chevron share a Director.

Mr A is quietly stitching up major world wide deals in the old CIS states, Venezuela, Bolivia, China....