MEED reported that France’s Technip will open an office in Iraq by the end of the Q1 of 2010 to try secure billions of dollars of oil and gas construction work in the country over the next decade.

Technip expects Iraq and Iran to provide important investment opportunities between 2012 and 2015, once the peak in the GCC oil and gas projects market has passed.

Mr Arturo Grimaldi senior VP for the Middle East at Technip said that “We believe we will be one of the first international players in Iraq. We will open our own office there soon and hope to be the first to be there and be awarded projects.”

Technip has held talks with Mr Hussein al Shahristani oil minister of Iraqi during the last few months over establishing an office.

In February 2009, Iraq’s State Company for Oil Projects awarded Technip a Feed contract to design a new refinery in Karbala. In December, oil majors will bid in the country’s second post war licensing round for contracts to develop 10 oil and gas fields.

On October 13th 2009, Iraq awarded a 20 year deal to develop the Zubair field to a consortium of Italy’s Eni, South Korea’s Kogas and US oil major Occidental Petroleum.

(Sourced from MEED)