Oil fields open, but foreign firms shy

BAGHDAD: Iraq's long-awaited licensing round to develop some of its massive oil reserves stumbled yesterday as oil and gas companies dug in their heals, demanding more money for their efforts than the government was willing to pay.

International oil companies were submitting bids for six oil and two gas fields more than 30 years after Saddam Hussein nationalized the oil sector.

By midday, only one field had been awarded and several others drew limited to no interest. The government was hoping that the licensing round would result in companies flooding in as the country looks to boost output of a resource whose sales bring in 90 percent of the government's revenues.