Iraq's coveted first licensing round did not lead to the anticipated stampede by international oil companies vying for the eight oil and gas fields up for grabs.
However, the tepid response can hardly be written off as a failure because Oil Minister Hussain Sharistani managed to award the country's biggest oilfield on the best possible terms.
Furthermore, the contract to expand production at the giant Rumaila field will bring to Iraq two of the world's largest oil companies - UK supermajor BP and China's state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC).
BP's
