Iraqi officials have set June 14 as the deadline for investors to bid for the 100,000 b/d Kut refinery, according to Reuters.

The refinery is one of several crude processing projects being established in Iraq as part of the country’s plan to achieve oil self-sufficiency.

The government did not manage to attract investment from major international oil companies during the last licensing round that closed on April 30, Reuters reported.

Italy’s Eni, the only oil major to participate, made two unsuccessful bids for the exploration blocks, located offshore in the Gulf, and on the Iranian and Kuwaiti borders.

Of the 11 blocks on offer, three went to UAE-based Crescent Petroleum, two to Chinese company Geo-Jade and one to United Energy Group, also based in China. Five of the blocks failed to attract any bids.

“We have decided to speed up the development of border fields after five decades without investments … leaving them without investments meant wasting the oil wealth of the country,” Oil Minister Jabar Ala-Luaibi said ahead of bidding.