As things stand now, it appears that Exxon Mobil's big Kurdistan gamble will pay off. The US supermajor looks positioned to retain operator-ship of the giant West Qurna-1 oil field in southern Iraq, while holding onto the six exploration agreements it signed in October in the semiautonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq (EIF Nov.16' 11). But is it time for Exxon to break open the champagne just yet? Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki told the Wall Street Journal last week that Baghdad will not terminate Exxon's West Qurna-1 contract despite threats to do so after the Iraqi central government learned of the contracts with Erbil: "We are looking for a way for its [Exxon's] other contracts in any area to be within the legal contexts, but as for canceling its contract in the south, no."
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