MOSCOW (RIA Novosti) - Russian energy giant Gazprom’s oil arm Gazprom Neft is interested in developing six oil and two gas deposits in Iraq, the head of the company’s Middle East projects said Saturday.

“We are participating in a tender with partners, there are six oil and two gas fields there,” Alexander Kolomatsky told journalists.
Kolomatsky declined to name the partners citing commercial confidentiality. The tender’s results are to be made public in the third quarter of 2009.
The announcement came after Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki met with Russian business heads to try and attract Russian investment in the oil-rich country.
Kolomatsky said that the world’s largest oil and gas companies are also participating in tenders to develop these deposits.
Gazprom Neft is Russia’s fifth-largest oil company with 77.66% of its stock held by Gazprom and 20% by Italy’s Eni. Gazprom Neft posted a net profit of $5.2 billion in the first nine months of 2008.
The Eni head said Tuesday that Gazprom had agreed to pay the company $4.2 billion for a 20% stake in Gazprom Neft.
Gazprom’s head Alexei Miller and Eni CEO Paolo Scaroni signed the agreement on the 20% stake in Moscow on Tuesday.