Not a massive surprise. For those that are interested, please feel free to read "Confessions of an Economic Hitman" by John Perkins. It touches upon globalisation, (HIPS) Heavily Indebted Poor Countries and the pay back! Read it and weep

James F, London, UK

That Iraq may be rich and free is clearly a bitter pill for many "civilised" people to take

Iraq is free, a hateful insurgency has been beaten and Gulf rulers now fear the free rich Iraqis who will tell their tribal counterparts in Saudi, Syria, Iran etc

Any decent person would rejoice

Mike, Newmarket, UK

So, every hope of Iraq settling down to become a peaceful little bacwater then.

Eric Skelton, Cardiff, Wales

Hey, why don't we invade Iraq and get all that oil????

martin, London, england

SURPRISE - SURPRISE!

Janet Wood, Penrith, Cumbria

I would imagine that the Iraqi's will support Mc Cain for president.
As the GOP has been the only one to stand by them.

Mike , Staunton Il, US

İt is funny (because any other emotion is too depressing) to read some comments here that actually say that İraq was liberated and now the people are free from a mass murdering dictator! People in İraq are not safe. Death toll is unbelievable! When will Americans wake up from their dream?

Matt, Antalya, Turkey

Having met a number of senior haliburton employees in the far east a couple of years ago, i can assure you this,there is much more oil than this, to quote them "if you stub your toe in irag you get covered in the stuff" and that real reserves represent an astonishing ten times more than saudi

karl, london,

Does this mean if this report is correct both the UK and US will get favourable rates considering its our armed forces who are dieing for it!?! Let's not forget our Allies of course.

Jason Kelly, Leeds, United Kingdom

Good thing the the US has done such a marvelous job in managing the liberation of the Iraqis. They should then, be quite pleased to put us first in line to buy their oil!

John, DC, USA

It is good that the Oil Revenues will be able to go to a democratically-elected Iraqi Government instead of a Dictator.

The Iraqi government will be able to sell it's oil at market prices to whoever wants to buy it. Probably to the Chinese at the amount their demand for it is increasing.

Noah, San Diego,

For all conspiracy nuts out there saying it's an American masterplan, give your heads a shake...I would not want to see a Russia, China or worse Iran occupying Iraq. Saddam was a mass murderer and Iraqis have paid dearly in blood but it is welcomed liberation. This oil is for Iraqi's to sell.

Pierre, London, Canada

In the run up to the War I had read that Iraq had the largest unproven oil reserves in the world and that this was indeed one of the reasons for the war, the difference being unproven reserves are theorized to be there but may not be and proven reserves have been located and identified.

Austin, ST. James , USA

Here's a couple of questions for you; who gains from Iraqi oil going to Haifa? Does Israel get free oil from the illegal war where many British soldiers have given their lives?

CFT, Liverpool, UK

"Can anyone explain why psychopaths should run countries?" asked Joe, Scarborough, Canada.

Well, most of the times psychopaths ruled countries because USA implant them. Such the case of Pinochet and many more South America military governments.

SEE http://www.soaw.org & STOP "HELPING" THE WORLD

Bari Dosk, Patagonia, Argentina

To those still debating the reasons/intentions/merits of the war to remove Saddam and his sons Usay and Quday; the continuation of the Nazi/Baathist regime for the people of Iraq and the rest of the world still remains the preferred option?

Can anyone explain why psychopaths should run countries?

Joe, Scarborough, Canada

More oil will equal more blood.

Tom , ottawa, Canada

This is just the Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister trying to sell the idea of how good it would be if they passed the US-approved oil law. Only the US puppets want that law passed, the rest want the US out, hence no law.

These are not "proven oil reserves". The numbers are just made up.

DaveKimble, Carmoo, Australia

This makes it more important that we help get the iraqi government stabilized. With a powerful friend in the region maybe things could be stabilized and something fruitful could come out of this war.

Joe Johnston, Renton,

There has not been any mystery as to the roots of this war for years. Just Google "Judicial Watch Map Iraqi Oil Fields" to see the maps that Cheney's Energy Task Force was looking at in May of 2001.

Kurt, Vancouver, USA

If the oil they are referring to is in fields currently in production then the damage that resulted from years of over pumping has to be addressed, if oil is pumped out of the ground too fast, as was the case in Saddam's Iraq, then the reservoir is damaged and will produce less oil than otherwise.

waren, Strathmoor Manor,

Oh well, good thing the Americans didn't go there for the oil. What a lucky coincidence!

Victor D., Athens, Greece

great news - at current global consumption this keeps us in oil for another 10 years ....... or a bit less if consumption increases

gareth, arveyes, switzerland

That's b;own it. now the Americans will have to stay for a hundred years.

Hamad Lone, London, England

Reply to Alan Saunders, 1) the peak oil theory still applies, finding more oil reserves does not dis-credit the calculation, it just changes the result. 2) The theory of mankind driven climate change does not go away now we have some more oil reserves, further it is not becoming more dis-credited.

Steven Jones, Wellington, New Zealand

This WAS known over 10 years ago.
But kept secret all this time.
Cause it would have been plainly obvious as to why Iraq was stolen.
The US has a history of taking what they want.
Taking land off the native Americans, confining and exterminating them comes to mind.

History is repeating itself!!.

Sean Hamerton, York., England.

So . . . the invasion of Iraq wasn't about weapons of mass destruction!? It was just about oil. Am I right or am I right?

Ewan, Falkirk, Scotland

I thought that Middle East oil reserve statistics were treated as fraudulent by most oil analysts. Nearly every country in the region doubled their reserves in the mid 1980's when oil reserves were linked to the ability to export.
Treat this report very sceptically is my advice.

Jim Morrison, Leeds, UK

Oh now we get it - Well-kept. Mineral. Deposits.

Hope the money filters down to the ordinary Iraq's not just the members of 1 tribe, as it does next door.

Dan, London, England

Operation Iraqi liberation (OIL)

Blood for Oil

jayil, london, uk

I believe Bush....

They were looking for weapons of mass destruction and found the oil entirely by mistake.............

I AM NOT BEING NAIVE.

Marc, Antrim,

our share of the oil? we don't have a share. i would rather suffer this $200 a barrel catastrophe than benefit from oil subsidised by the murder of mostly innocent men and women

John Mcqueen, London, UK

I wonder if this new found will be shared with the iraqi people?

javed khan, london, uk

I wonder if these reserves were foreseen 5 years ago, at the White Housem, before the Iraq invasion begun... :-)

Boris, Belgrade, Serbia

Where is our share of the oil?
The Americans are shipping oil tankers by the dozen, obviously bound stateside.
So what has happened to ou share of Iraq's oil?

Mark, Yorkshire,

oops got my calculation wrong, make that 11 years and not 10.

gareth, arveyes, switzerland

The Oil reserves is equal to $1,298,390.60 per person in Iraq

I wonder how much will actually go to the Iraqis probably less than $10 each Iraqi and the other $1,298,380.60 to the Yanks

richard, aberdeen, UK

OK.. someone found oil in Irak... EASY!!!! Do some geologist hard work for a change! Now be a sport and find me oil where there used not to be any...

Make oil not war...

Rui, Lisbon, Oil-less Portugal

Well well so this is what all that guff about 'weapons of mass destruction' was all about!

Alan C , Manchester, UK

Let me see. Bush, an oil man, starts a war that cuts supply from the world's biggest single source of oil. The oil price skyrockets. What's the rule here? Follow the money? Quid bonis? (or should that be quids'n bonus for the peak oil punters?)

Rose, Stirling, UK

I wonder how all those pushing the Peak Oil theory will explain that ? Now that mankind driven climate change is becoming increasingly discredited and the true facts about the size of the world's oil reserves are becoming clear what excuse will governmets use to tax us next ?

Alan Saunders, London,

Well, that explains everything.

iain carstairs, bedford, uk

Iraq also has 29,267,000 people. I wonder if anyone is interested in them?

iain carstairs, bedford, uk

What a surprise,no WMDs just the worlds biggest oil supply.Maybe the US and UK won't be making a hasty retreat.

stephen hulton, eure, france

Great news, Irapi supplies could last at this present production rate for 383 years!?

Julian Iles, Duston, England