West sees glittering prizes ahead in giant oilfields [in Iraq]:
Iraq has oil reserves of 112billion barrels, second only to Saudi Arabia, which has some 265billion barrels. Iraqi reserves are seven times those of the combined UK and Norwegian sectors of the North Sea. But the prize for oil companies could be even greater. Iraq estimates that its eventual reserves could be as high as 220billion barrels.
Three giant southern fields – Majnoon, West Qurna and Nahr Umar have the capacity to produce as much as Kuwait. The first two could each equal Qatar’s production of 700,000 barrels a day. “There is nothing like it anywhere else in the world. Its the big prize,” Mr Butt said.