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Iraq today set its sights on ramping up oil production as international firms such as BP move back into the country after years of war.
Oil minister Hussain al-Shahristani said he now expects three of its major oilfields — Rumaila, Zubair and West Qurna — to pump over six million barrels of oil a day. That is more than was hoped for from all eight oilfields offered up by Iraq to foreign firms in June in the first bidding round since the US-led invasion in 2003.
Many Iraqi oil wells were torched by Saddam Hussein's retreating troops during the war.
BP and China National Petroleum were awarded Rumaila over the summer. The West Qurna field went to Exxon Mobil and Shell last week.
Oil prices passed the $78 a barrel level today, forced up by a weak dollar and the threat Hurricane Ida poses to oil installations in the Gulf of Mexico.
Crude was up 94 cents to $78.37 a barrel in New York. The gold price also shot up to more than $1100 an ounce because of the weak dollar.
The greenback has moved inversely to oil and gold for months as investors buy commodities as a hedge against inflation and a weaker US currency.
Ida, heading towards the Gulf with winds of 105 mph, is the first Atlantic hurricane to approach the US this year. Oil rose to $82 last month, its 2009 high, from $32 in December.
Crude fell $2.19 to $77.43 on Friday after US unemployment in October jumped to 10.2%, its highest level since 1983. The dismal figure stirred concerns that consumer demand will remain sluggish despite an overall economic recovery.
