Iraqi Oil: A Potential Shift in Regional Dominance

Iraq is a conundrum. Its complexity can be understood by considering its location. It is a historically dynamic region situated on the Eurasian supercontinent at the junction of the Levant, Greater Persia, the Anatolian Peninsula and the Arabian Peninsula. This alone presents a wide range of social and political implications, which contribute to the materialization of a country that hosts divergent groups partitioned by religious and ethnic lines. Despite Iraq’s potential capacity of 12 million barrels per day (mb/d), it has only managed up to 3 mb/d since 1979.One of the underlying reasons for this underproduction is the recurrence of war in contemporary times, but a current shaky ‘stability’ may change this. The political and economic climate of today’s world is largely characterized by globalization and interdependence. An influx of supply and demand in one country may be reflected by changes in policies implemented by another