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Oil Giants to Return to Iraq

Posted Jun 19, 08 4:20 AM CDT in World 

(Newser) – Four big oil companies chucked out of Iraq by Saddam Hussein 36 years ago are ready to return, the New York Times reports. BP, Exxon Mobil, Shell and Total are about to announced winning coveted no-bid contracts to service Iraqi oil fields. The contracts are short-term, but the firms hope to significantly boost the country's oil production and win even bigger deals to develop huge new fields.

The oil giants, who lost their access to Iraq's vast oil reserves when the country nationalized the industry, are being awarded the contracts as a stop-gap measure while the government is stuck in stalemate over a new oil law. Foreign expertise could help Iraq more than double its oil output within a few years, helping to stem surging oil prices, analysts believe.

Source New York Times

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An oil tanker, Patris, is seen docked next to Iraq's vital al-Basra oil terminal, in Persian Gulf waters, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2008.   (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)
Iraqi firefighters conduct a training exercise at the Najaf Oil Refinery, 130 kilometers (100 miles) south of Baghdad, Iraq, on Thursday, Sept. 13, 2007. (AP Photo/ Alaa al-Marjani)   (AP Photo)
Iraqi flags flutter during the opening ceremony of a new oil refinery plant in the Shiite holy city of Najaf, central Iraq, earlier this year.   (Getty Images)
An Iraqi employee turns on a valve at an oil refinery.   (Getty Images)
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