<HTML>In a message dated 4/8/2003 10:47:02 AM Eastern Daylight Time, chrisd@russiajournal.com writes: <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">Iraq scrapped the deal in 2002 saying LUKOIL sought U.S. guarantees to keep the field under any government change, while LUKOIL said the move was aimed at punishing Russia's diplomacy for its moderate position in the U.N. Security Council. </BLOCKQUOTE> Chris, My understanding of Lukoil and West Qurna was that they had signed an original contract in 1997 with the Iraqi government to develop the West Qurna fields. They were prevented from developing by sanctions as particularly stressed by the US. That was why they ultimately turned directly to the US to pursue American guarentees to keep oil rights post any government change in Iraq. And that led to Iraq throwing them off the contract in Dec. 2002. Is that incorrect? Nomi</HTML>