Opportunities exist for a wide range of upstream and downstream activities, including exploration, production, pipelines and storage, and for a large range of service companies including equipment suppliers, petroleum providers and environmental technical services, consultants, pipeline and storage contractors, banks and others wanting to finance major new developments.

As well as providing a series of major business opportunities, the development of Iraq’s oil and gas industry is likely to have a profound effect on the world oil industry in general. Iraq could become both an important provider of oil to world markets and natural gas to regional markets, with a corresponding effect on prices over many years to come. It could also be a major competitor for nearby producers of oil and gas in the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia, affecting future developments way beyond its borders.