A car bomb in a northern Iraqi town near Mosul has killed 18 and wounded 25 in the biggest attack in recent weeks.

And after a gap of about twenty years, Iraq has resumed oil exploration.

During a ceremony attended by Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani, a seismic team began work Friday in the Gharraf field in Nasiriyah in southern Iraq.

"The confirmed reserve of this field is 1 billion barrels and we believe that it will be doubled after this exploration mission," said Assem Jihad, the ministry's spokesman.

The Gharraf team is one of three groups of geophysicists, geologists and engineers who will explore oil fields in the Nasiriyah area, Jihad said.

The other two seismic teams will search for oil in other fields that officials believe could have reserves of 8 billion barrels.

"It is a new move that aims at boosting the oil sector after the improvement in the security situation," Jihad said.

Jihad said Iraq had only used about a fifth of the country's 500 possible oil-producing sites, adding that finding more proven reserves would help the government develop plans for investment to increase production.

Is this a sign of increased stability in the country? At any rate, it looks as though Iraqis are ready to get money flowing again, and more oil profits will certainly complement their budget surplus. Speaking of which, the New York Times Editorial Board argues it's time for Iraq to start paying…and I'm still arguing it's time for us to get out. If all the talk of negotiations about timetables for withdrawal is to be believed, maybe we actually will.




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