Iraq on Monday invited foreign companies to bid for contracts to explore and develop oil and natural gas reserves in nine new blocks as the OPEC nation seeks to boost its output capacity.  “We invite all international companies to participate,” Oil Minister Jabar al-Luaibi told a news conference in Baghdad. “This new exploration bidding round aims to maximise reserves.” Sponsored Five blocks are located at border areas with Iran, three with Kuwait and one is offshore in Gulf waters, a presentation by oil ministry officials at the conference showed. Luaibi said the areas had previously been “neglected” because they were the site of conflicts between Iraq and its neighbours in the 1980s and 1990s. The bidding terms will be finalised by the end of […]