Iraq is in talks to form an oil-marketing joint venture with China’s largest refiner, Sinopec, according to people familiar with the matter, as the Middle East producer prepares for rising Iranian rivalry amid an oil-price slump. The move comes as sanctions on Tehran may be lifted as early as next month, unleashing half a million barrels a day of additional Iranian oil. Oversupply has already led to a free fall in global oil prices, which dropped to their lowest level since 2004 on Monday. Anticipating the return of Iranian oil , the people said Iraq’s State Organization for Marketing of Oil—the government organization tasked with selling Baghdad’s oil—is in advanced discussions to set up a joint venture with Unipec, the trading branch of Chinese state refiner China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. SNP -0.40 % , or Sinopec. The partnership, which would be equally split between each company and would […]