The Indonesian state run oil company Pertamina has been forced to send a negotiation team to Iraq to defend its oil exploration contract for the Western Desert.

In a stroke of bad timing the contract was signed by Pertamina with the Hussein regime before the U.S. military invaded and subsequently took over administration of the country.

Since then the U.S. authorities in Iraq have made all contracts with the fallen government invalid.

Pertamina President Basihaki Hakim, part of the negotiating team, said Pertamina plans to invest $US30 million to develop the oil field and has already spent $US3 million preparing for the exploratory drills in the Western Desert.