Iraq
Employees at an oil drilling facility in northern Iraq.
Area: Supergiant fields in Iraq's southwest desert
Estimated barrels of recoverable crude: 45-100 billion
Iraq is sitting on massive oil reserves, but it's perhaps the most politically difficult energy resource to access.
In 2009, Iraq produced 2.4 million barrels per day of crude oil, but the country has a total of 115 billion barrels of proven reserves, and that's based on a 2001 estimate. Iraq probably has much more oil, including up to 100 billion barrels in its relatively unexplored western and southern deserts.
Among the country's many energy resources are nine fields classified as "super giants," which means that each could produce over five billion barrels. Now, the majority of oil produced in Iraq comes from only three fields.
Oil is a key part of Iraq's energy portfolio, about 94% of its energy needs met with oil.
The problem with Iraqi oil production is in the refining process. Right now there aren't enough refineries with capacity to process so much crude. There's also a paucity of fresh water in the region--a key resource for petrochemical processing.
Iraq has opened production to international oil companies including Shell and ExxonMobil, but the majors are having some trouble facing the refining bottleneck. Companies in the area also face security problems, due to political tension in the Middle East.
NEXT: Kazakhstan
Last updated January 26 2011: 12:08 PM ET
