The West Qurna oil field in Iraq contains one of the world's largest oil reserves.

BBC: Russian firm fights for Iraqi oil rights

"No one has offered us West Qurna-1, " LUKOIL Vice President Leonid Fedun told Reuters.

FORBES: Vagit Alekperov

But the status of the Lukoil deal to develop the West Qurna two oil field is still unclear.

BBC: Russia strikes Iraq oil deal

Russia's Lukoil is fighting to regain a Saddam-era contract to develop the enormous West Qurna field in southern Iraq.

FORBES: Magazine Article

When Rumaila's deposits were discovered, it was the second-biggest oilfield in the Middle East, if measured together with its adjacent sister field at West Qurna.

ECONOMIST: Iraq's southern oil hub

Exxon Mobil last year signed up to explore several blocks, deeming the deal sufficiently sweet to risk expulsion from its West Qurna 1 oilfield in southern Iraq.

ECONOMIST: Iraqi oil: Lots of black stuff | The

ExxonMobil Iraq Ltd. signed an agreement in Baghdad for the West Qurna-1 field in southern Iraq, which has reserves of about 8.5 billion barrels, according to the oil ministry.

FORBES: U.S. Equities

For a better understanding of the specific fields that underlie this potential, like Rumaila, Majnoon and West Qurna, take a look at our special Forbes.com report on the 10 most important oilfields of the future.

FORBES: Iraq's Oil Potential 'Eyepopping'

In just the last few weeks, more than 1, 000 people have protested at ExxonMobil and Russia Lukoil's super-giant West Qurna oil field, demanding jobs and payment for private land that has been lost or damaged by oil operations.

CNN: Why the war in Iraq was fought for Big Oil