Buoyancy and optimism are not words readily associated with Iraq, but there is a feeling this summer could mark a turning point in the country’s fortunes with major developments involving land, sea and air.

The IMF is slating 8 percent growth in 2008. More than three-quarters of business owners expect the economy to significantly grow over the next two years and 84 percent of business leaders believe security is better now than the previous year, according to a study by the Center for International Private Enterprise. Over 70 percent of Iraqi companies are open to working with international companies, expressing the belief that international trade and economic openness would improve their businesses and Iraq’s economy in general, the study adds.

An extra 125,000 barrels per day (bpd) of northern Kirkuk crude was earmarked in June, which would lift overall shipments to a post-war record. The country hopes to boost exports of Kirkuk and Basra Light from the south to about 2.1 million bpd, up from a previous peak of around 1.93 million bpd in February. Exports of crude oil to Turkey from the Kirkuk oil fields have grown to 430,000 bpd, the most since 2003.

With all that, Iraq oil revenues could top $70 billion this year if oil prices stay high and there are no output disruptions. In all, the taps could be pumping out 2.9 million bpd by the end of this year. New data suggest its oil reserves could exceed Saudi Arabia’s and be the world’s largest.

This increase in the black stuff means increased trading activity in the south, symptomatic of growing commercial ties between Iraq and Middle Eastern neighbors. In one week in May alone, 10 international cargo ships of various tonnages and a tanker called at Umm Qasr, Iraq’s only port. There has been a continued upsurge in seaborne cargo deliveries following a cease fire between the army and militia units, brokered by Iran in May.

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