Reports noted that major oil companies were upbeat about the prospects of taking part in exploration and production activities in Iraq, despite limited number of oil fields open for foreign participation. Iraqi oil output is expected to rise 7 million barrels a day within six years from the current levels of 2.5 million barrels a day, which would catapult the country to the fourth biggest producer in the world.1

• 1. Timothy Williams, ‘Oil Companies Look to the Future in Iraq’, New York Times, December 1, 2009, at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/01/world/middleeast/01iraqoil.html?ref=to...