A flame emerge from a pipeline in Baba-Gargur oilfield in Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad December 17, 2009. Oil firms are betting that an eventual agreement between Kurds and Arabs will allow exports from northern Iraq, but the wager became more risky last week after Baghdad secured a host of major deals of its own. Picture taken December 17, 2009.
REUTERS/Ako Rasheed (IRAQ - Tags: ENERGY BUSINESS)