Saudi industrialization and energy services company Taqa is considering investing $1.6 billion in pipelines and $133 million in offshore platforms in Qatar and Iraq. Officials from Taqa was quoted in a published report Friday saying that the company was considering investing in the gas industry in Qatar and the oil industry in Iraq by building platforms and pipelines for companies already working in the two countries. Taqa has invested SR500 million in offshore oil and gas platforms in Saudi Arabia. Officials said interest has increased since one of the company's main partners, the Italian oilfields services company Saipem, won a $10 billion contract to develop fields in southern Iraq. Meanwhile, New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in August, rose 65 cents to $76.09 a barrel. Brent North Sea crude for August gained 71 cents to $75.42.
