Just when it looked like Iraq was becoming a regional leader it decided to halt a $2 billion pre-paid oil supply deal with China’s state-owned Zhenhua Oil Co. despite aims to strengthen ties with China. Iraq decided to end a deal with Zhenhua and sell its crude supply to other customers as oil prices continue to rise. The deal with the Chinese company, that was agreed upon earlier this year, would have seen 4 billion bpd of oil supplied each month. The oil was expected to be ‘destination free’, meaning Zhenhua could sell it to other companies. However, government officials in Iraq are making the country’s budget priority clear as the State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO) deputy director-general Ali al-Shatari stated , “For the time being we may say it is not applicable at this stage because of oil prices, which are high and we are in […]