Top oil multinationals expect the revival of a Saddam-era oilfield deal between Iraq and China to pave the way for contracts giving them access to Iraq's vast untapped reserves.
The news that Iraq's oil ministry would discuss handing China the first foreign contract to develop oil resources was no surprise to Western oil executives, who say Chinese companies are eager to drill in the field they signed up for in the mid-1990s.
Western oil majors were not competing for the small al-Ahdab field in central-southern Iraq. But some have taken heart that Baghdad is opening up and looks ready to honour its deal with China rather than hand the field to a company from the United States, which has 142,000 troops in the country.
European firms had criticised the way US rivals won most big infrastructure deals after the US-led invasion in 2003 and feared the same would happen with Iraq's oil wealth.
"It's a good way for Chinese companies to get into Iraq and could be a door opener for the next development deals," a senior executive at a major oil company said.
Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani is expected to make an official visit to China in late October, then go on to Japan and Australia to discuss oil investment projects.
Finalising the Ahdab contract, worth some €550 million, could enhance his standing with oil majors keen to tap the country's reserves, the world's third biggest.
The deal, like others signed by former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, was effectively frozen by international sanctions and then by his overthrow.