Iraqi oil becomes more important

After the Deepwater Horizon disaster I thought about the risks of extracting oil from underneath a deep sea compared to the risks of extracting oil from Iraqi fields. Eventually, I thought, Iraqi oil and gas would become more important to the world because it's relatively easy to extract.

'Iraq's oil production is increasingly important to meet world energy demand, industry executives meeting in London said Tuesday, as they predicted that the political fallout from the Gulf of Mexico spill will have a long-term impact on U.S. production.

After years of sanctions and war, Iraq — home to some of the world's largest reserves — is finally finding the political stability necessary for oil extraction.

"Iraqi supply is one of the largest game changers," Nobuo Tanaka, executive director of the International Energy Agency told the annual Oil & Money conference.

Royal Dutch Shell PLC Chief Executive Peter Voser said his company has already raised oil production from Iraq's Majnoon field to 70,000 barrels a day, from 45,000 barrels a day previously.'