That output would be enough to put Rumaila in second place worldwide after Saudi Arabia's Ghawar.

FORBES: Reserves

Oh what the U.S. could have done if it had put a call on Iraq's Rumaila oil field.

FORBES

The Rumaila field in Iraq, with 17 billion barrels, is the fourth-largest field.

FORBES: Reserves

The Rumaila field, contracted to BP and China National Petroleum Corporation, includes an area ten miles long studded with mines.

ECONOMIST: Iraq's oil

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

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'