U.S. Sees Iraqi Oil Production Choked for Years

Iraq has vast hydrocarbon potential that could rival major producers such as Saudi Arabia and Russia, but U.S. government analysts are predicting that Iraqi oil production development will remain thwarted for years to come. Its enormous reserves of an estimated 115 billion barrels of proven crude are the world’s third largest after those of the Saudi Kingdom and Canada.

The U.S. military continues to guard the energy infrastructure, and under a 100-million-dollar joint contract with South African security firm Erinys International, some 14,000 mainly Iraqi personnel have also been trained to guard the sector, the EIA report said. In addition, Florida-based AirScan conducts air surveillance of the pipelines.

.rigzone