Iraq having historic sale of production rights

Oil produces 90% of Iraq's annual income; so sale of production rights to oilfields yielding 40% of Iraq's oil wealth is critical. A meeting in London saw 35 companies' representatives being given six months to apply for a 20-year right to operate the oilfields. With reduced internecine violence observers are optimistic that Iraq can double its oil output by 2012. A further indication: last month Shell opened an office in Baghdad and was given a lb2 billion contract to modernise an existing gas field.