BP in Iraq's 1st big post-invasion oil deal

A second auction of 10 largely undeveloped oilfields will be held on Dec 11-12.

In addition, Iraq is expected to sign a different kind of deal with Japan's Nippon Oil Corp for Nassiriya.

The deals bode well for Iraq's second round of tenders, which analysts expect to attract interest.

"Even if the 'wrong' faction win in January and say, 'we're going to scrap all these contracts,' in that case, the companies would not have had any time to invest anything," said Samuel Ciszuk of IHS Global Insight. So why not bid in December?

(Additional reporting by Khalid al-Ansary, Aseel Kami, Jack Kimball in Baghdad, and Barbara Lewis and Tom Bergin in London; Writing by Michael Christie; Editing by Barbara Lewis)