Oil Games

“Iranian forces crossed into Iraq and seized an oil well just over the two countries’ disputed border, Iraq’s government said, prompting a protest from Baghdad and providing a dramatic display of the sometimes tenuous relations between the wary allies. The incident could trouble Iraq’s drive to attract the international investment needed to develop its beleaguered oil sector, analysts said, and it raised questions about the two countries’ ties, which had improved greatly after the fall of Saddam Hussein. According to Iraq’s deputy foreign minister, Mohammed Haj Mahmoud, Iranian troops crossed into Iraqi territory on Thursday and seized oil well No. 4 in the al-Fakkah oil field, located in Maysan province about 200 miles southeast of Baghdad. The oil field is one of Iraq’s largest.”