Reuters: Iraq has lured big oil firms into new service contracts on some of its giant oilfields by cutting taxes and sweetening terms to make the deals more profitable, industry sources said on Wednesday.

International oil companies are close to striking deals that would almost triple Iraq’s output and catapult it up the table of global producers. The firms walked away from those deals at an auction just over three months ago.

Lower taxes were the main factor that convinced firms they could turn a profit where they previously saw too much risk on punishing terms, executives at international oil firms said.

My comment: Slow but sure progress in Iraq with regard to the oil industry. I am still invested there and this is the type of news I expect to see going forward. If Iraq can ever get oil production up to 6 million barrels per day, which is where I think they can be in a few years then investments in the small stockmarket there should pay off massively. Nevertheless this is a frontier market and was ranked as one of the most corrupt places on earth to do business. But for the adventurous or those who are able to understand and deal with the risk a huge payout is possible. I am researching another frontier market, in Asia, that has the same type of upside as Iraq but its wealth is mineral based.

John Polomny
The Real Deal