Russia 's Lukoil OAO (LKOH.RS) has requested that Iraq clear mines from the supergiant West Qurna Phase 2 oil field in southern Iraq near the border with Iran , a senior Iraqi oil official said Thursday.

Dhiaa Jaafar, chairman of Iraq's state-run South Oil Co. told Dow Jones Newswires that Lukoil's request came during the first meeting held Sunday by the joint management committee comprising specialists from Lukoil and the SOC.

"We haven't reached yet a final agreement on mine clearing issue," Jaafar said. However, he didn't say whether they would meet again to solve this problem.

Iraqi authorities report there are more than 27 million pieces of unexploded ordnance in Iraq from the war with Iran in the 1980s. The largest number of mine fields is placed near the border between the two countries.

"West Qurna Phase 2 area isn't heavily polluted with mines, however," Jaafar said.

However, the two sides had agreed on other issues, such as carrying out a survey on the field.

Lukoil, in partnership with Norway 's Statoil ASA (STO), won the right to develop the field, which has an estimated oil reserves of nearly 13 billion barrels, during the country's second-largest post-war licensing round in December.

A week ago another Russian company, OAO Gazprom (GAZP.RS), asked the Iraqi authorities to clear mines from the Badra oil field deposit, also near the border with Iran .

Gazprom said that mine-clearing at the deposit, which has estimated reserves of 2 billion barrels of oil equivalent, was required to secure the company's operation on the site.

Gazprom, in partnership with Turkish Petroleum Corp., known as TPAO, South Korea 's Korea Gas Corp. (036460.SE) and Malaysia 's Petronas, won the right to develop the field at the energy auction held in December.
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