Iraq gets better terms on two major deals

The already sweet contracts Iraq scored from more than a dozen foreign oil firms just got a bit sweeter: instead of taking $700 million in loans from two consortia, it converted them to a $200 million signing bonus they get to keep.

Ten contracts signed with international oil companies since November give the operators between $1.15 and $6 for each additional barrel of oil produced, which is then assessed with a 35 percent tax and a 25 percent cut for the state oil partner.

Neither the Min...