BAGHDAD: An Iraqi oil official says U.S. oilfield services company Weatherford International Ltd., has won a $224.4-million contract to drill in southern Iraq.The official with the state-run Maysan Oil Co. said Wednesday the Houston-based company has 24 months to drill 20 wells in the southern Buzurgan oil field in Maysan province.The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment, said the wells will boost current the field's current output of 80,000 barrels per day by at least 40 percent.The deal - ratified Tuesday by the Iraqi Cabinet - is part of an accelerated plan to raise Iraq's output from its current level of 2.4 million barrels per day by 2010.Maysan is about 200 miles (320 kilometers) southeast of Baghdad.
Sunday, February 28, 2010 HAVANA: Hundreds of wealthy merchants and cigar aficionados from all parts of the world gathered in Havana this week to bid high stakes for humidors full of premium cigars. Cuba's annual Habanos festival ended on Friday night with an auction of ornate humidors of cedar and mahogany stacked with hand-rolled stogies that raised 800,000 euros ($1.09 million dollars). Habanos S.A. executives this month said cigar sales fell 8 percent to $360 million in 2009, so they have created the Julieta, a smaller, milder version of the Romeo y Julieta cigar, aimed specifically at female smokers. Women now make up only 5 to 10 percent of customers for Habanos. But even with the creation of the Julieta, Garcia said Habanos has only modest hopes for 2010 sales, due largely to a weak economy in Spain, the biggest market for Cuban cigars. The flavor of premium tobacco relies on the soil and climate in which it is grown. The western province of Pinar Del Rio, famous fo...
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