Iraq: 1-year limit on no-bid contracts

BAGHDAD: The Iraqi government will limit no-bid contracts being negotiated with several major oil companies to one year to avoid overlap with longer-term deals expected to be signed next June, a senior Oil Ministry official said Thursday.

The contracts sparked a backlash because they involve major Western oil companies.

There are concerns that granting such contracts to Western oil companies could feed perceptions that U.S.-led forces toppled Saddam Hussein to seize the world's third-largest oil reserves.