The invitation applies to big-time developers and financiers, that is. Major industry players the world over will definitely be enticed by the country’s proven reserves of 115 billion barrels, the third largest in the world after Saudi Arabia and Iran. Millions of barrels more lie undiscovered.

Unlike Saudi Arabia and Iran where the respective oil industries are well-entrenched, Iraq is a diamond in the rough, so to speak. After years of war and state-controlling dictatorship before that, Iraq’s oil industry has remained underdeveloped, to say the least. It is observed to be lacking in necessary resources and efficient management systems.

The oil playground is expansive. Iraq has 80 known oilfields. Only 15 of these have been developed. The current production capacity is at a paltry 2.4 million barrels per day.

Some long-term service contracts have been signed. Shell has partnered with China on a $4bn joint venture ‘to collect and market the 700 million cubic feet of gas flared from 19,000 square kilometers of oil field in the Basra region.’ China National Petroleum Corporation is on a $3bn contract to develop the Ahdab field in central Iraq. The company is also talking with Shell to develop the reserves at Kirkuk.

Oil exports account for 95 percent of government revenue in Iraq. These funds are imperative to rebuild the wartorn country. To produce the targeted 6 million barrels per day by 2014, the Iraqi government needs an estimated $50bn in investment. To lure investors, Iraq has upped the contractor’s stake to 75 percent from the erstwhile 49 percent.

So, let the battle for Iraq’s oil begin!

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Via The Independent