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The contracts, which sidestep stalled Iraqi legislation on oil contract bidding, would run one to two years. They are being billed as service contracts awarded to companies that provided free advise to Iraq, The New York Times reported.

Thirty-six years after Iraqi oil was nationalized by Saddam Hussein, the contracts, designated for Exxon Mobil, Shell, Total and BP, will be viewed by many as tangible evidence that oil, not aid to terrorism, provoked the war in Iraq.

Iraqi has said it wants to increase production by 500,000 barrels per day, the Times reported. Analysts said Iraq output could increase to 4 million barrels per day within several years and 6 million barrels after new fields are tapped.

"The bigger prize everybody is waiting for is development of the giant new fields", Leila Benali of Energy Research Associates, told the Times.

Logistical and legal hurdles remain, the Times reported.

The Kurdistan regional government has signed contracts, contested by Baghdad. And the risk of attacks by insurgents remains, the Times reported.

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