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06/27/2004:

"The Virgin Oilfields of Iraq"

A large part of the country is still mainly unexplored. Of the more than 80 oilfields discovered, only 21 have been developed.

When it comes to oil, Iraq is—believe it or not—largely virgin territory. Though much of the talk about rebuilding Iraqi fields focuses on bringing production back up to prewar levels of about 3 million barrels a day, Iraq is the only Middle Eastern oil power other than Saudi Arabia with huge reserves that are untapped, even unexplored. Indeed, Iraq has the potential to match the 10.5 million barrel-a-day capacity of Saudi Arabia, which is now the only producer capable of using its excess capacity to moderate world oil prices.
Full Article : msnbc.msn.com