Baghdad (Platts)--13Apr2010/645 am EDT/1045 GMT

Iraqi oil minister Hussain al-Shahristani has urged other ministries to help facilitate the logistics of foreign oil companies, in a bid to increase their presence in the country as it prepares for a drastic boost in oil production.

Shahristani said specifically that the ministries of interior and transportation had been asked to work more closely with his ministry, following complaints by companies that it was difficult to secure entry visas and charter flights.

Shahristani was speaking Monday at a conference at the ministry's headquarters attended by representatives from a half dozen foreign oil and service companies, designed "to facilitate their activities in Iraq."

The company officials were vocal about the visa and flight issues during a question-and-answer session, with many saying it was difficult enough to secure a single entry visa for an individual, let alone visas for scores of employees needing to quickly and repeatedly enter and leave the country.

"You can't work without a multiple-entry visa," said Hussein Mehaidi, an adviser to Italy's Eni.

Eni, with partners Kogas and Occidental Petroleum, was awarded a 20-year deal to develop Iraq's Zubair oil field which, along with nine other oil projects, will be developed by foreign oil companies as the country plans to increase oil production capacity from around 2.5 million b/d to more than 12 million b/d in seven years.

Representatives from the South Korean government, as well as CNPC, its Chinese joint venture Al-Waha Petroleum Company, and Halliburton all expressed similar concerns.

Among other concerns raised were rules and fees for charter flights, which are often unknown until the flight arrives at the airport.

An executive from one of the largest oil companies now operating in Iraq said there had been problems with certain visas for its employees flying into the Basra international airport, adding that there appeared to be a lack of communication between the interior, foreign and transportation ministries.

--Ben Lando, newsdesk@platts.com