This summer Iraq's federal and regional leaders paid subsequent visits to Russia and strengthened Russian Gazprom Neft, LUKOIL, and Rosneft oil contracts, while Iraq's internal dispute over hydrocarbon revenue sharing continues to force international investors to choose either central or regional governments' fields to exploit but not both. Maintaining equilibrated relations with Moscow secures Baghdad's cross-border oil transport in Iran and Syria and benefits Erbil with generous offers. Meanwhile, Russian investors anticipate the risk of a degrading Russian monopoly if the Iraqi market operates in full capacity, and seek to control this ascending concurrent.
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