BP 'has gained stranglehold over Iraq' after oilfield deal is rewritten

The Iraq government argued in 2009, when the agreement was signed, that the country had got a superb deal, and this was endorsed by western oil analysts surprised that BP agreed to such terms.

The documents seen by the Observer show that the terms of the original agreement proposed by the Iraqi oil ministry, under which BP comes in as a contractor and operator rather than owner, have been amended to put the British-based company and its Chinese partner in a far more advantageous position.