LUKoil: We Will Pump In Iraq Anyway

Russian oil major LUKoil next year will extract oil for the first time from Iraq's giant West Qurna field.
Lukoil?s CEO Vagit Alekperov's provide no details about the agreement between LUKoil and Iraqi officials on its rights over the field.

A 1997 deal on exploration rights has been repeatedly put into question. LUKoil?s managers look confident and say that they will pump oil in Iraq next year."
Iraq scrapped LUKoil's $3.7 billion deal late in 2002, accusing the company of failing to meet its obligations to begin work.
LUKoil said its hands were tied by United Nations sanctions then in force. It considers the deal still valid under international law.
Alekperov has said LUKoil will need to wait until the Iraqi government was in place to start tapping the field.
LUKoil's most recent attempt to revive the contract was in March, when Alekperov went to Baghdad to sign a memorandum of cooperation with the Iraqi Oil Ministry.