Race for New Oil Fields

...Race for New Oil Fields
By GEORGE JAHN Associated Press Writer © 2008 The Associated Press DAVOS, Switzerland — An Iraq at peace may be capable of pumping substantially more than 5 million barrels of crude a day _ and the world's big oil companies want to be part of the action if and when it does....Al-Shahristani's view of his country as "the place ... for future work in the industry" is shared by many in the industry.
Saudi Arabia, the Middle East petroleum powerhouse, now produces about 9 million barrels a day and will likely remain OPEC's most prolific source of crude for decades of come.
But there is intense interest in expanding other sources of supply because of concerns that the oil flow from Iran, the organization's No. 2 producer, could be interrupted if tensions with the U.S. over Tehran's nuclear program turn into conflict.....

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