It is now widely accepted that the surge in American troops helped dramatically improve security in Iraq in the last year. But there has been less notice of, or comment on, how the surge has improved the Iraqi oil sector, which contributes more than two-thirds of the country's gross national product and almost 95 percent of the government's revenue, and remains pivotal to the country's development and stabilization.

Oil production has risen about 25 percent in Iraq in the past year. It had been flat from 2005 through mid-2007, hovering around 2 million barrels per day before beginning to climb to its present level of 2.5 million barrels per day. This is roughly equal to immediate prewar levels. Oil exports are now close to 2 million barrels per day--near Iranian levels--after rarely topping 1.5 million barrels per day in the postwar years.

The rise in Iraqi oil production over the last year already equates roughly to the increase in Saudi output over the last few months that has drawn so much attention and for which President Bush publicly pressed so long.

Oil revenue had already been spiking thanks to soaring oil prices, but with exports now also increasing, it is rising even further. Oil exports could yield at least $60-70 billion this year, more than double the level in 2006 and more than triple the level in 2004. Ballooning revenue will strengthen the central government and offer hope to Iraqis about the future of their country, which should contribute to

The significantly improved security situation in the north (thanks mostly to the surge and Sunni Awakening) has played a big role in the more consistent functioning of the northern Iraqi export pipeline to Ceyhan, Turkey. Through the first half of 2008, an average 370,000 barrels per day has been exported through the Turkish line, a tenfold increase over last year.

The south yields over 80 percent of Iraq's oil, and security there has also improved, largely as a result of the Iraqi government's spring campaign in Basra against various militias and criminals (aided by American military support). Energy facilities, however, especially those on land approaching the offshore export terminals, remain vulnerable, including to possible action by Iranian allied groups.

Iraqi oil progress can also be seen in the production deals concluded by the Kurdistan Regional Government in northern Iraq. The Kurds have awarded rights to more than 20 of their 40 development blocks, with a couple already producing small quantities of oil. But Iraq's oil minister, Hussein Shahristani, has declared these deals illegal, and the U.S. government opposes them as well. Shahristani claims the Kurds cannot proceed until there is a comprehensive hydrocarbons law dividing up Iraq's oil wealth between the regions and threatened to boycott the companies involved.

Iraq has great potential as an oil producer and exporter. It is perhaps the least developed oil exporting country in the world with already the third largest proven oil reserves, and produced as much as 3.5 million barrels per day in 1990 before the Kuwait invasion, the Gulf war, and sanctions. Iraqis have long had plans to reach more than 6 million barrels per day of production, which could be achieved within a decade with security and foreign investment. But despite the obvious potential and recent progress, political factors in both the United States and Iraq continue to constrain Iraq's oil sector.