Iraq Oil on Yahoo! News Photos

An aerial photograph of the Al-Dora oil refinery complex in ...

(AFP/File) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 14:31:18 GMT

(AFP/File) - An aerial photograph of the Al-Dora oil refinery complex in Baghdad. China has hailed a three-billion-dollar oil agreement with Iraq as a win for both nations, as it sought to reassure the rest of the world that it should not be concerned by the deal.(AFP/File/Ali Yussef)

Workers man a drill at an exploration site in the Longgang gas ...

(AFP/File) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 14:31:18 GMT

(AFP/File) - Workers man a drill at an exploration site in the Longgang gas field in Lishan, in southwest China's Sichuan province. China has hailed a three-billion-dollar oil agreement with Iraq as a win for both nations, as it sought to reassure the rest of the world that it should not be concerned by the deal.(AFP/File/Liu Jin)

China and Iraq have reached an agreement on a landmark, three-billion-dollar ...

(AFP/File) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 14:31:18 GMT

(AFP/File) - China and Iraq have reached an agreement on a landmark, three-billion-dollar deal to exploit oil in the Middle Eastern country, according to the Iraqi embassy in Beijing. The two sides reached the agreement during a visit to China by Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani, seen here in 2007.(AFP/File/Manan Vatsyayana)

Iraqis queue to buy fuel for use in generators in Youssifiyah, ...

(AP) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 13:38:47 GMT

(AP) - Iraqis queue to buy fuel for use in generators in Youssifiyah, south of Baghdad in Iraq, Thursday, Aug. 28, 2008. China and Iraq have signed a US$3 billion deal revising an earlier agreement for China's biggest oil company to help develop the Ahdab oil field, an official at the Iraq's Oil Ministry said Thursday. (AP Photo/Loay Hameed)

In an aerial photograph of the Al-Dora oil refinery complex ...

(AFP/File) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:42:26 GMT

(AFP/File) - In an aerial photograph of the Al-Dora oil refinery complex in Baghdad. China has hailed a three-billion-dollar oil agreement with Iraq as a win for both nations, as it sought to reassure the rest of the world that it should not be concerned by the deal.(AFP/File/Ali Yussef)

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, right, listens as Lebanon's ...

(AP) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 12:45:44 GMT

(AP) - Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, right, listens as Lebanon's Prime Minister Fuad Saniora, left, speaks to the media at a joint press conference in Baghdad, Iraq Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2008. Iraq and Lebanon plan to sign a series of trade agreements in coming weeks, including one on Iraq exporting oil to Lebanon, the prime ministers of the two countries said after a meeting Wednesday. (AP Photo/Ahmad Al-Rubaye, Pool)

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, right, listens as Lebanon's ...

(AP) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 12:44:51 GMT

Lebanon's Prime Minister Fuad Saniora speaks to the media during ...

(AP) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 12:41:51 GMT

(AP) - Lebanon's Prime Minister Fuad Saniora speaks to the media during a joint press conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, not seen, in Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2008. Iraq and Lebanon plan to sign a series of trade agreements in coming weeks, including one on Iraq exporting oil to Lebanon, the prime ministers of the two countries said after a meeting Wednesday. (AP Photo/Ahmad Al-Rubaye, Pool)

Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, right, speaks with Lebanon's ...

(AP) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 12:40:37 GMT

(AP) - Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, right, speaks with Lebanon's Prime Minister Fuad Saniora, left, moments before a joint press conference in Baghdad, Iraq Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2008. Iraq and Lebanon plan to sign a series of trade agreements in coming weeks, including one on Iraq exporting oil to Lebanon, the prime ministers of the two countries said after a meeting Wednesday. (AP Photo/Ahmad Al-Rubaye, Pool)

In this photo released by Dalati Nohra, Lebanon's official news ...

(AP) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 12:08:59 GMT

(AP) - In this photo released by Dalati Nohra, Lebanon's official news agency, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, right, speaks with Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora, left, in Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2008. Saniora met with al-Maliki on Wednesday, becoming only the third top Arab figure to visit Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. Al-Maliki said the two countries would sign several agreements soon, including one on Iraq exporting oil to Lebanon. (AP Photo/Dalati Nohra, HO)

In this photo released by the Iraq Prime Minister's Office, ...

(AP) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 12:07:25 GMT

(AP) - In this photo released by the Iraq Prime Minister's Office, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, right, welcomes Lebanon's Prime Minister Fuad Saniora, left, at the airport in Baghdad, Iraq Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2008. Iraq and Lebanon plan to sign a series of trade agreements in coming weeks, including one on Iraq exporting oil to Lebanon, the prime ministers of the two countries said after a meeting Wednesday. (AP Photo/Iraq Prime Minister's Office, HO)

In this photo released by the Iraq Prime Minister's Office, ...

(AP) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 12:05:52 GMT

(AP) - In this photo released by the Iraq Prime Minister's Office, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, right, welcomes Lebanon's Prime Minister Fuad Saniora, left, at the airport in Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2008. Iraq and Lebanon plan to sign a series of trade agreements in coming weeks, including one on Iraq exporting oil to Lebanon, the prime ministers of the two countries said after a meeting Wednesday. (AP Photo/Iraq Prime Minister's Office, HO)

In this photo released by the Iraq Prime Minister's Office, ...

(AP) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 12:04:29 GMT

(AP) - In this photo released by the Iraq Prime Minister's Office, Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, right, meets with Lebanon's Prime Minister Fuad Saniora, left, in Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2008. Iraq and Lebanon plan to sign a series of trade agreements in coming weeks, including one on Iraq exporting oil to Lebanon, the prime ministers of the two countries said after a meeting Wednesday. (AP Photo/Iraq Prime Minister's Office, HO)

Women and a girl pass through the shells of several cars burned ...

(AP) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 16:10:16 GMT

(AP) - Women and a girl pass through the shells of several cars burned down by Kurdish protesters during a recent attack on the headquarters of the Iraqi Turkoman Front, an umbrella organization defending the rights of Turkomen, in the disputed city of Kirkuk in northern Iraq on Saturday, Aug. 9, 2008. Tension runs high in the oil-rich city which Kurds want to incorporate into their own self-ruled region in northern Iraq - despite opposition by the Turkomen and Arab population. (AP Photo/Selcan Hacaoglu)

Turkomen worshippers pray during noon prayers at the Haci Osman ...

(AP) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 16:08:54 GMT

(AP) - Turkomen worshippers pray during noon prayers at the Haci Osman mosque in the northern city of Kirkuk, Iraq on Saturday, Aug. 9, 2008. Tensions run high in the oil-rich-city city, which Kurds want to incorporate into their own self-ruled region in northern Iraq despite opposition by the Turkomen and Arab population. (AP Photo/Selcan Hacaoglu)

Ezved Rashid Salihi, the Turkoman imam of the Haci Osman mosque ...

(AP) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 16:08:24 GMT

(AP) - Ezved Rashid Salihi, the Turkoman imam of the Haci Osman mosque in the northern city of Kirkuk, Iraq, talks on Saturday, Aug. 9, 2008 about tensions in the oil-rich-city city, which Kurds want to incorporate into their own self-ruled region in northern Iraq despite opposition by the Turkomen and Arab population. (AP Photo/Selcan Hacaoglu)

Munir al-Kafiri, center-left, an official of the Iraqi Turkomen ...

(AP) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 16:07:55 GMT

(AP) - Munir al-Kafiri, center-left, an official of the Iraqi Turkomen Front, answers questions of Atalay Muratli, center-right, an editor of the Turkmeneli TV station during the recording of a TV program on Friday, Aug. 8, 2008 in the northern city of Kirkuk, Iraq. Tension runs high in the oil-rich city which Kurds want to incorporate into their own self-ruled region in northern Iraq - despite opposition by the Turkomen and Arab population. (AP Photo/Selcan Hacaoglu)

An Iraqi policeman walks in the street outside the Turkmeneli ...

(AP) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 16:07:24 GMT

(AP) - An Iraqi policeman walks in the street outside the Turkmeneli TV station on Friday, Aug. 8, 2008 in the northern city of Kirkuk, Iraq. Tension runs high in the oil-rich city which Kurds want to incorporate into their own self-ruled region in northern Iraq - despite opposition by the Turkomen and Arab population. (AP Photo/Selcan Hacaoglu)

Munibe Bayatli, the cook of the Iraqi Turkoman Front, an umbrella ...

(AP) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 16:06:54 GMT

(AP) - Munibe Bayatli, the cook of the Iraqi Turkoman Front, an umbrella organization defending the rights of Turkomen and ethnic Turks, stands inside the organization's burned-down headquarters on Saturday, Aug. 9, 2008 in Kirkuk, northern Iraq, after an arson attack by Kurdish protesters there on Monday, July 28, 2008. Tension runs high in the oil-rich city which Kurds want to incorporate into their own self-ruled region in northern Iraq - despite opposition by the Turkomen and Arab population. (AP Photo/Selcan Hacaoglu)

A female worker of the Turkmeneli TV station walks into the ...

(AP) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 16:06:10 GMT

(AP) - A female worker of the Turkmeneli TV station walks into the station as Iraqi policemen stand guard at the entrance Friday, Aug. 8, 2008 in the northern city of Kirkuk, Iraq. Tension runs high in the oil-rich city which Kurds want to incorporate into their own self-ruled region in northern Iraq - despite opposition by the Turkomen and Arab population. (AP Photo/Selcan Hacaoglu)

Nezhet Abdulgani, 2nd right, an official of the Iraqi Turkomen, ...

(AP) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 16:05:36 GMT

(AP) - Nezhet Abdulgani, 2nd right, an official of the Iraqi Turkomen, front, and his guards pass shells of cars torched by Kurdish protesters during a recent attack on the headquarters of the organization, which defends the rights of Turkomen, in the city of Kirkuk, northern Iraq Saturday, Aug. 9, 2008. Tension runs high in the oil-rich city which Kurds want to incorporate into their own self-ruled region in northern Iraq - despite opposition by the Turkomen and Arab population. (AP Photo/Selcan Hacaoglu)

An Iraqi oil worker, seen in 2007, adjusts some controls at ...

(AFP/File) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 19:18:55 GMT

(AFP/File) - An Iraqi oil worker, seen in 2007, adjusts some controls at an oil refinery in the southern Rumaila area. Iraq's oil ministry said Sunday it plans to resurrect a major oil deal with China that fell apart amid crippling United Nations sanctions and the aftermath of the 2003 US-led invasion.(AFP/File/Essam al-Sudani)

An Iraqi soldier stands guard near the scene of an explosion ...

(Reuters) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 18:39:35 GMT

(Reuters) - An Iraqi soldier stands guard near the scene of an explosion that struck a gas pipeline transporting unrefined gas from Kirkuk's oil fields' largest refinery in Baiji, in the Laqlaq area about 15 km (10 miles) northeast of Baiji February 11, 2008. (Sabah al-Bazee/Reuters)

Oil rigs extract petroleum. Crude prices have slumped below ...

(AFP/Getty Images/File) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 13:00:31 GMT

(AFP/Getty Images/File) - Oil rigs extract petroleum. Crude prices have slumped below 116 dollars a barrel as the US currency strengthened and amid concerns about slower energy demand, while Iraq said it was resuming exploration of its immense reserves.(AFP/Getty Images/File/David Mcnew)

Crude prices have slumped below 116 dollars a barrel as the ...

(AFP/File) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 13:00:31 GMT

(AFP/File) - Crude prices have slumped below 116 dollars a barrel as the US currency strengthened and amid concerns about slower energy demand, while Iraq said it was resuming exploration of its immense reserves.(AFP/File/Karen Bleier)

Sattar Jaafar, 41, operates a loom as he and his family try ...

(AP) — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 12:07:37 GMT

(AP) - Sattar Jaafar, 41, operates a loom as he and his family try to make a living by hand-weaving rugs in the Sadr City district of Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2008. A report Tuesday by the U.S. General Accounting Office predicted Iraq could finish the year with as much as a US$79 billion cumulative budget surplus due to the influx of oil revenues, which raised a firestorm from critics who said American taxpayers were shouldering an unfair share of the reconstruction load. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

Hameed Jaafar, 22, operates a loom as he and his family try ...

(AP) — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 11:53:02 GMT

(AP) - Hameed Jaafar, 22, operates a loom as he and his family try to make a living by hand-weaving rugs in the Sadr City district of Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2008. A report Tuesday by the U.S. General Accounting Office predicted Iraq could finish the year with as much as a US$79 billion cumulative budget surplus due to the influx of oil revenues, which raised a firestorm from critics who said American taxpayers were shouldering an unfair share of the reconstruction load. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

People attend a protest in the town of Hawija, Iraq, Saturday, ...

(AP) — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 15:23:13 GMT

(AP) - People attend a protest in the town of Hawija, Iraq, Saturday, Aug. 2, 2008. More than 1,000 Sunni Arabs and Turkomen staged a demonstration Saturday to protest calls by Kurds to annex the oil-rich city of Kirkuk to their autonomous region as Iraqi officials met in Baghdad to defuse tension over the disputed city.(AP Photo)

A U.S. soldier stands guard while the Iraqi Air Force demonstrate ...

(Reuters) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 19:57:59 GMT

(Reuters) - A U.S. soldier stands guard while the Iraqi Air Force demonstrate the capability of the Caravan (Cessna 280) ISR aircraft in New Al-Muthana Air Base in Baghdad July 30, 2008. Typical missions for the Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Aircraft (ISR) aircraft include urban security, battlespace reconnaissance and power line, oil infrastructure, and border surveillance. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani (IRAQ)

An officer of the Iraqi Air force shows the media images taken ...

(Reuters) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 19:57:55 GMT

(Reuters) - An officer of the Iraqi Air force shows the media images taken by the Caravan (Cessna 280) ISR aircraft in New Al-Muthana Air Base in Baghdad July 30, 2008. Typical missions for the Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Aircraft (ISR) aircraft include urban security, battlespace reconnaissance and power line, oil infrastructure, and border surveillance. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani (IRAQ)

In this April 19, 2006 file photo, an oil worker walks past ...

(AP) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 04:41:15 GMT

(AP) - In this April 19, 2006 file photo, an oil worker walks past oil loading booms at the al-Basra offshore terminal off the coast of southern Iraq. (AP Photo/Nabil al-Jurani, File)