Oil giants lining up for slice of Iraq

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Global oil giants are preparing to return to Iraq after being chased out of the oil-rich country 36 years ago by the late dictator Saddam Hussein, reports said. Shell, BP and ExxonMobil are all eagerly lining up to tap into the resources of the Middle Eastern nation with a deal due to be signed on June 30, the New York Times said quoting oil companies and a US diplomat. "The deals ... will lay the foundation for the first commercial work for the major companies in Iraq since the American invasion, and open a new and potentially lucrative country for their operations," the Times said. ExxonMobil for its part has already voiced an interest in participating in the development of Iraq's oil resources. "If the Iraqi government decides it wants international oil companies to partner with them in developing their resources, ExxonMobil would be interested in participating," the company said. Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh said last month that his country was the world's largest ever emerging market, with foreign companies lining up to invest in the war-ravaged economy. Iraq was predicting $US70 billion ($A74.03 billion) in oil revenue this year, with reserves that "could well exceed" 350 billion barrels, and with the International Monetary Fund slating eight per cent growth in 2008. The news that a deal is in the offing is likely to inflame debate about the origins of the Iraq war, which many critics have claimed was all about the country's oil reserves. But US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the US government was not involved in the no-bid oil contracts. http://au.news.yahoo.com/080619/2/17cxj.html