... We want Pertamina to join us again and expect that it will win the tenders...
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Iraqi government expressed hope that Indonesia's state and gas firm Pertamina would return to Iraq to do oil business again in that country after it left Iraq following the 1999 war.

The Iraqi government's hope was expressed by Iraqi Ambassador to Indonesia Ismieal S Muhsin in a meeting with Indonesian Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Jero Wacik at his office here on Tuesday.

"We want Pertamina to join us again and expect that it will win the tenders," the ambassador said.

Ismieal said that the oil blocks in Iraq were still under a bidding process. Iraq has also held talks with the Indonesian government through the energy and mineral resources minister.

"We discuss it with the ministry of energy and mineral resources in the first place. Pertamina wants a project in Iraq, but we will discuss it again later," the ambassador said.

He said that the Iraqi government always called a tender for the cultivation of oil blocks every year. Therefore, he hoped that Pertamina would come to Iraq again.

"I think Pertamina would get benefits if it joins the project in Iraq again," the ambassador said.

Although he hopes that Pertamina will come to Iraq again, yet the ambassador did not mention which oil blocks he was offering to Pertamina. (A014)

Editor: Ade P Marboen
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