The US and Iran seem to be have stepped back from the brink of armed conflict, at least for now, but many oil and gas companies nevertheless face serious decisions regarding their short and mid-term plans in neighboring Iraq, where tensions remain high. There are still some 5000 American troops stationed in Iraq, but their continued presence there has become uncertain. (See Rystad Energy press release from January 10, 2020.) Iraqi oil production averaged more than 4.8 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2019, of which about 1.8 million bpd stemmed from the country’s domestic and state-owned players. International oil companies were thus responsible for the lion’s share of production – in the region of 3 million bpd. Companies headquartered in China collectively produced more than 1 million bpd, E&Ps from the United Kingdom produced beyond 630,000 bpd, and Russian players had combined average output of around 330,000 bpd. […]