Part of the extensive development of Iraq's oil field may need to be funded by soft loans provided by oil and gas companies, the country's oil minister Hussain al-Shahrastani has announced.

Speaking in London yesterday (April 30th) as a high level delegation led by Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki canvassed UK businesses in the capital promoting development opportunities, al-Shahrastani said that the low price of oil has created a large funding gap in the country's budget.

He told Reuters that the investment pledges tied into the country's invitation for tenders to develop oil fields in the country are necessary to plug that gap.

"These are not signature bonuses but soft loans that we expect the international oil companies to provide, that will be repaid by the oil produced," he stated.

Elsewhere, Sir Claude Hankes, an adviser to the Trade Bank of Iraq, has told the Independent that the UK needs to start training as many Iraqi workers as possible in order to develop strong trade links with the country.

Written by Ashley Brunskill

Global Education and Training event: Getenergy for Iraq