Global oil firms are set to have a run at Iraq's vast oil resources when the contracts for the biggest fields are auctioned off this month.
However the 30 June tender for service contracts in six already producing oilfields and two undeveloped gas fields is fraught with risk following a revolt in the state-run oil industry and continuing violence and political uncertainty.
Despite this, oil companies - including Exxon Mobil, Total and Royal Dutch Shell - are attracted by the allure of the world's third largest oil reserves, and of greater riches down the road from Iraq's under-exploited and under-explored oil resources.
When former US President George W Bush invaded Iraq in 2003, critics charged it was because the US wanted to get its hands on Iraq's 115 billion barrels or more of reserves.
Eyebrows may be raised if oil companies from nations that took part in the invasion walk away winners in the auction. But the Iraqi government insists that is calling the shots.
In addition to the Iraq oil industry revolt, semi-autonomous Kurds have warned they could make it difficult for companies to work around the disputed northern city of Kirkuk, while Iraq's parliament has insisted it must approve every deal.
'A huge controversy has surrounded this first licensing round since before it even began,' said former oil minister Esam al-Chalabi.
'As expected, the process will not be safe and the foreign companies will face inevitable problems ahead.'
The contracts are 20-year service deals, which offer payment based on a fixed fee for additional output.
Oil firms prefer production sharing deals that allow them to book some of the reserves and take a share of the profit.
Winning firms must pay the Iraqi Oil Ministry $2.6bn in signature bonuses and cover Iraq's 25% share of development costs, which it will pay back in oil.
Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani, summoned before parliament, insisted the deals were in Iraq's interests, and would earn the country $1.7 trillion over the next two decades.
Some Iraqi oil executives, including the head of the South Oil Co, which produces most of Iraq's oil, oppose the deals because Iraq has invested $8 billion in the fields since the invasion.
'The service contracts will put the Iraqi economy in chains and shackle its independence for the next 20 years,' said South Oil Co Director General Fayad al-Nema.
The challenges to operating in Iraq remain significant. The violence that almost tore it apart after the invasion has receded, but bombings that kill dozens remain common.
Foreign oil executives and infrastructure will be considered high-value targets by insurgents.
The potential legal and political hurdles are also daunting.
Iraq's parliament has failed to agree on new hydrocarbon legislation because of a potentially explosive row over oil and land between the Kurds and the Baghdad government.
