Iraq's oil ministry said Thursday it is preparing to open up a fourth round of bidding to 45 companies to invest in Iraq's gas and crude oil reserves.
Abdul-Karim Eleibi, told the German Press Agency dpa that 12 areas for exploration will be discussed in the coming weeks.
"The fourth round will be dedicated to the exploration of Iraq's oil reserves and to increasing gas production rates," he said.
He also said that Iraq is working to export more than 4.5 million barrels per day (bpd).
Just a day earlier, the ministry announced that the oil-rich nation will boost its production of crude oil to 3 million bpd before the end of 2011, up from the current rate of 2.1 million bpd.
In the last round of contracts awarded in September, a number of foreign investors secured deals in Iraq worth billions of dollars in both the infrastructure and energy sectors.
Iraq announced last year that it has around 143 billion barrels of crude oil reserves, about 24 per cent more than previous estimates.
Iraq has the world's fourth largest crude oil reserves, behind Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, and Canada.