The firm had originally been awarded the Block 3 contract in 2002 by Saddam Hussein’s regime.

In a statement, Pertamina’s Director of Upstream Industries Bambang Nugroho said, “The Iraqi Oil Minister [has] given a positive response to Pertamina’s letter regarding a contract on Block 3 in the Western Desert and considered Pertamina a potential partner. [We plan] to conduct exploration activities as soon as [we have] been formally awarded a contract.”

“Pertamina may also undertake another exploration project equal with the Tuba field which is producing some 100,000 barrels of oil per day. The Iraqi government had promised to give the contract on it to Pertamina [and] we will do these jobs now that the handover of sovereignty in Iraq took place last June,” added Bambang without elaborating further.

The Western Desert is estimated to hold around three million barrels of oil and the Indonesian firm is expected to invest around US$24 million on the Block 3 project alone over the next three years.