Major multinational oil corporations such as BP, ExxonMobil, Shell, ENI and Statoil have already made significant headway in increasing access to oil training courses for Iraqi workers, according to a new report.

However, the new Middle East Intelligence report added that while many Iraqis have received robust training outside the country, oil firms will now need to focus on creating a strong domestic training sector.

"Such a programme would involve identifying talented students, offering them scholarships to study engineering and other fields needed for Iraq's upstream and downstream oil development," wrote the report's author Saifaldin Abdul-Rahman.

Reflecting on Iraq's campaign to once more become one of the world's leading oil-producing nations, Mr Abdul Rahman added that while the country's first oil bidding round had been disappointing, the second round attracted considerably more bids from international firms, and resulted in a strong set of development contracts.

The two bidding rounds are expected to boost long-term production threefold.

Oil and Gas Directory: Training and Development