By Rick Wilkinson
OGJ correspondent
MELBOURNE, Nov. 18 -- Australian Woodside Petroleum Ltd. signed a 2-year contract with Iraq's Oil Ministry giving the Perth-based company the right to investigate oil and natural gas development potential in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq.
Woodside particularly is interested in two discoveries in the Zagros basin near the town of Sulaymeniyah. One is the undeveloped TaqTaq oil accumulation found in 1978. The other is the undeveloped Chemchemal gas discovery dating back to 1950.
Woodside describes the program as an initial step toward working with the Iraqi government to learn about the potential risks and rewards of investing in the country's oil and gas sector.
