BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq awarded contracts worth nearly $300 million Monday to Indian and Danish firms to set up factories to manufacture oil and gas pipelines, an official said.
The deals are part of Iraq's efforts to develop infrastructure for its petroleum industry.
An Indian steel company, Jindal SAW Ltd., won the $198 million contract to build and operate a factory in al-Argeli to manufacture pipelines that could one day be used to transport Iraq's vast petroleum reserves, said Khalaf al-Badran, chairman of the Investment Commission in the southern city of Basra.
He said the 25-year deal will help build badly needed facilities for Iraq's oil industry and provide jobs in the south.
An Iraqi subsidiary of Danish construction giant Phoenix International won an $86 million contract for another pipeline factory, in Umm Qasr in the south, al-Badran said. Iraq provided incentives to both companies, including 10-year tax exemptions, he said.
Iraq holds the world's fourth largest oil reserves, some 143.1 billion barrels. Oil income makes up nearly 95 percent of the government's revenues.
