By DemocracyRules
This is important news because it’s the first major foreign oil contract since Saddam dropped out of the picture.
Right now Iraq produces about 2.5 million barrels of oil per day, of which it exports about 2 million. This is far below Iraq’s potential, and it’s lower than what Iraq produced before the Persian Gulf War of 1991.
Iraq hopes to double its production to about 5 million barrels per day within the next five years.
In June Iraq invited bids to develop 6 oil fields on long-term contracts.
This contract is with the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNP) in southern Iraq's Wasit province, and it could be worth up to $3 billion. It will allow the CNP to operate for about 20 years.
BP, Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Shell, and Total are already doing some work in Iraq.
Iraq has a very large amount of proven oil reserves, and new exploration and extraction technologies are likely to increase the pool even further.
Pro Patria
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