Five Russian oil companies have made the list issued by the government of Iraq on Thursday of pre-qualified bidders for energy exploration rights.
A total of 47 companies from around the world have been approved. The auction for the rights is due to take place May 30-31, according to the oil ministry.
The Russian companies are Bashneft, Gazprom, LUKoil, Rosneft and TNK-BP. U.S. energy giant ExxonMobil is not on the finalized list, while Syrian General Oil has been added as a pre-qualified bidder.
(Reuters)