Workers of South Oil Company (SOC) adjust a valve at the Rumaila oil field in Basra Province in this May 24, 2010 file photo. The initial development plan agreed by Exxon Mobil and its partners for Iraq's West Qurna Phase One oilfield included drilling eight new wells and overhauling up to 50 wells this year to boost output. Exxon Mobil wants to leave its flagship Iraqi oil project after upsetting Baghdad by signing a deal last year with the autonomous northern Kurdish region, which the central government d

Foreign Oil Companies in Basra Caught in Political Crossfire

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Workers of South Oil Company (SOC) adjust a valve at the Rumaila oil field in Basra Province in this May 24, 2010 file photo. The initial development plan agreed by Exxon Mobil and its partners for Iraq's West Qurna Phase One oilfield included drilling eight new wells and overhauling up to 50 wells this year to boost output. Exxon Mobil wants to leave its flagship Iraqi oil project after upsetting Baghdad by signing a deal last year with the autonomous northern Kurdish region, which the central government d

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