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In a statement Eni said Paolo Scaroni had talked to Nuri al-Maliki about prospects in Iraq and joint development opportunities.Earlier this year Scaroni said the group's enthusiasm in Iraq was on the wane because of difficulties in the country.
State-controlled Eni, together with US-based Occidental Petroleum Corp and South Korea's KOGAS, has a 20-year deal with Iraq to develop the Zubair oilfield, which is expected to produce 400,000 barrels per day in 2013.