Overall, it is accurate to say that either through controlled or uncontrollable events, the price of oil will likely continue to rise into the foreseeable future.

             Iraq's Foreign Policy Toward the Oil Importing World.

             In the midst of inflated oil prices and occupation by the United States, Iraq's foreign policy toward the oil-importing world continues to evolve. Even in the midst of political unrest and chaos in the streets, Iraq is being courted by the rest of the world in order for other countries to gain access to the sizable oil reserves to be found in Iraq itself. Realizing this, the oil magnates of Iraq have taken advantage of this interest through the use of Production Sharing Agreements, or PSAs (Muttitt, 2005). Essentially, what a PSA consists of is a contractual agreement between the oil sources in Iraq and other nations who provide financial resources, equipment and personnel to aid in the extraction of oil from the oil fields of Iraq, which is a tremendous asset for Iraq at this time in the country's history, as vast portions of their oil production infrastructure have been destroyed as a result of war and internal strife. In other words, Iraq is being paid for the privilege of allowing outsiders to come in and process Iraqi oil. There are concerns about the fairness of PSAs and the negative effects that they could have on the fragile Iraqi economy. While the agreements represent a way for oil to flow from Iraqi oil wells once again, the payments that other nations are making for the privilege of oil extraction are in many cases a great deal lower than what the fair market value of the oil would actually be, thereby glutting the market with oil and generally depressing prices, which may be good for the average consumer, but is far from good for Iraq and the other nations that rely on oil for a great portion of their income. Theoretically, a stumble in Iraq's economy could lead to a proliferation of domestic terrorism which could also spill over into other countries, including the United States.