The no-bid contracts are unusual for the industry, and the offers prevailed over others by more than 40 companies, including companies in Russia, China and India. The contracts, which would run for one to two years and are relatively small by industry standards, would nonetheless give the companies an advantage in bidding on future contracts in a country that many experts consider to be the best hope for a large-scale increase in oil production.
Those are short term technical services agreements. And frankly the companies cited, "Exxon Mobil, Shell, Total and BP", are technically more advanced than Russian, Chinese, and Indian companies. If they're looking for the most uptodate technology, you go with the most technologically advanced, not necessarily the cheapest bidder. |
