UPDATE: Iraq Confirms 4th Oil Bid Round For May; Exxon Excluded

Iraq's Oil Ministry Thursday confirmed that the country's fourth energy licensing auction, which has been postponed several times, will still be held May 30-31 in Baghdad.

The ministry's Petroleum Contracts and Licensing Directorate, or PCLD, also issued the final list of prequalified international companies for the bid round. The list named some 47 firms and excluded the previously-listed Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM). The U.S. energy giant was excluded because it signed deals with Iraq's semi-autonomous region in Kurdistan.

Baghdad and Kurdistan are at loggerheads over scores of contracts that the Kurdistan Regional Government signed with international oil companies. Baghdad said these deals are nul and void because they haven't been approved by the central government, while the KRG argues that they are in line with Iraq's new constitution.

The list of prequalified firms includes South Korea's SK which was previously excluded. It also includes Syria General Oil Co.

"We are looking forward to welcoming all participating companies in Baghdad," said Abdul Mahdy al-Ameedi, head of the PCLD.

Among the companies qualified for the auction are some of the world's oil majors, including BP PLC (BP), Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA), Lukoil Holdings (LKOH.RS), Total SA (TOT), China National Petroleum Corp., or CNPC, Eni SpA (E), Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY) and Chevron Corp. (CVX).

The list also includes nine Japanese firms, including INPEX Corp. (1605.TO), Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp., Mitsui Oil Exploration Co. Ltd., JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration Corp., Itochu Corp. ((8001.TO), Mitsubishi Corp. (8058.TO), and Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. Ltd. (1662.TO).

Three Arab companies are listed by the ministry. They are Mubadala Oil & Gas and Dragon Oil PLC (DRS.DB) of the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait Energy.

One category of companies will be allowed to bid as operators for the 12 exploration blocks. The second category will be allowed to participate in consortiums led by operators.

Three of the blocks are in the western Anbar province, two are shared by the Anbar, Nineveh and Najaf governorates, the sixth is in Nineveh governorate and the seventh is near the border with Iran and shared by the provinces of Diyala and Wasit.

These seven are believed to contain gas resources, Oil Ministry officials said.

The remaining five blocks, believed to contain crude oil resources, are located in other governorates including Basra, Dhi Qar [Nassiriyah], Muthanna [Samawa], Babil, Najaf, Wasit and Diyala provinces, the officials said.

The size of the blocks range from 5,500-9,000 square kilometers, they said.

-By Hassan Hafidh, Dow Jones Newswires; +962 799 831 831; hassan.hafidh@dowjones.com

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