Not done yet

LONDON - The current Iraqi government’s days are numbered as a late February election seems likely. Yet, business carries on as the country readies for a second auction of oil fields, disputes remain between the central and Kurdish region governments, and as Iraq attempts to remove itself from the vestiges of Saddam-era sanctions.

It will be the work of the next government as well, said government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh, who spoke with Iraq Oil Report on the sidelines of an oil conference here. While a number of oil contracts are likely to be finalized by year’s end, let alone before the election, there is no quick resolution to disputes that are holding back Iraq’s ability to fully reap the benefits of the world’s third largest oil fields.