- 4 Thanksgiving Week Buys For Your Portfolio: Market Pros
- There's a 'Great Chance' For a Double-Dip Recession: Strategist
- Revenge of the Gangsta Nerds
- Will TCU See The "Flutie Effect?"
- Retail Earnings and Sales to Improve in Q4: Analyst
- Consumers Catching the Holiday Spirit
- It's Beginning To Look A Lot More Riskless
- Crescenzi: Claims Level Suggests End to Job Losses
- Hedge Funds Take Early Lead in Warren Buffett's 'Big Bet'
- Dubai Struggles to Ease Debt Fears; Investors Rattled
- Fannie Mae to Tighten Lending Standards: Report
- Black Friday to Avoid Red Ink; Greenback Gets the Blues
- Investing in Good Karma – and Making a Profit
- Retailers Should Believe in Christmas Miracles
- Wal-Mart Price Pressure Hurts China Workers: Report
- Bankruptcies Jump, Hitting Highest Level in Four Years
- Steepest Black Friday Discounts, Revealed
- Where Do Pardoned Turkeys Go?
MOST SHARED
- Kuoni CEO Sees Recovery in Travel Sector
- Gold Retreats from Record High as Dollar Rebounds
- Dubai Struggles to Ease Debt Fears; Investors Rattled
- Chinese Overcapacity is Worsening, EU Chamber Warns
- Great Britain, No Longer That Great: Investor
- Wal-Mart Price Pressure Hurts China Workers: Report
- China Unveils Carbon Target Ahead of Copenhagen
- Hyundai-Kia Targets Rapid China Growth in 2010
- Euro Shares Record Biggest Drop in 7 Months
Text Size 
Exxon Mobil [XOM
Loading...
()
], British Petroleum [BP
Loading...
()
], Royal Dutch Shell [RDS'A
Loading...
()
]and Total [TOT
Loading...
()
]are reportedly near a deal with the Iraqi Oil Ministry that will grant the oil giants "no-bid" contracts for access to the country’s oil fields. This will mark the first time these firms have had commercial access to Iraq since the U.S. invasion in 2003.
But don’t look for the entry of the oil majors into Iraq to help depress oil prices that have surged over $130 a barrel. Energy analyst Greg Priddy of Eurasia Group points out that these are short-term service contracts of one or two years being awarded to the four Western oil firms, not production-sharing agreements.
Big oil isn’t booking more reserves from Iraqi oil fields, where current production is around 2.5 million barrels per day. Instead, the major oil giants will be helping to rebuild devastated energy infrastructure in Iraq, hoping to get a upper-hand on bids for future contracts.
"That’s important symbolically, but not practically" for the global oil market, says Christ Edmonds, founder of FIG Energy Partners. "No one is going to flip a switch and see oil gushing out of Iraq… pragmatically that may take years."
Indeed, Priddy estimates Iraqi oil production won’t go over 3 million barrel a day for at least four to five years.
 |
Iraqi Oil Field Map |
Questions? Comments? energysource@cnbc.com
- For nearly three decades, these on-call experts have been dishing advice on how to – and not to – cook turkey.
- Ever wished your cab driver would stop nattering and just get to where you're going? Well that moment is near(er).
- Eric Schmidt pledges to create a virtual copy of the Iraq National Museum at Google’s expense.
- Bill Griffeth is taking a leave of absence from CNBC and Power Lunch for a year. Here's a message from Bill.
- More shoppers than ever plan to comparison-shop this season. Who will benefit?
- It may be the most unusual guide to business you'll read.
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes