Iraq drilling company in venture talks with oil firms

* Dozens of firms expressed interest in Iraq

* Companies cannot be named

BASRA, Iraq, Nov 27 (Reuters) - The state-run Iraq Drilling Company is talking to several international oil firms about possibly reviving a short-lived joint venture with a Ramco Energy Plc ROS.L subsidiary, the head of the company said.

The $400 million venture with Ramco's Mesopotamia Petroleum Co Ltd to drill 60 new oil wells a year fell through in July after Mesopotamia missed a deadline to confirm funding.

Iraqi Drilling Company Director Idrees al-Yassiri told Reuters in an interview that even though the contract was terminated, the deal had benefitted Iraq because it broke the ice for foreign oil firms thinking about entering Iraq.

"Dozens of companies asked to work in Iraq after we signed this contract and this is a great step forward, even if the deal was not implemented," Yassiri said.

"We are negotiating with major, established world companies to possibly form a permanent partnership through a joint company or partnerships on specific projects. Negotiations are still underway and we can't name the companies."

Iraq and Mesopotamia Petroleum set up the joint venture in February, saying it would add 120,000 barrels of oil per day to Iraq's output capacity within a year. (Reporting by Aref Mohammed; Writing by Michael Christie; Editing by Sue Thomas) ((michael.christie@thomsonreuters.com; +964 7901 917 030; Reuters Messaging: michael.christie.reuters.com@reuters.net))