A net exporter of oil as recently as the 1990s, China’s oil consumption reached 8 million bpd in 2008 - up from 4.9 million in 2001. 

Also, Chinese companies are ideally suited for projects in Iraq, because they have a shorter history, less experience, and fewer business opportunities than their larger Western counterparts.

“It’s really hard for them to do anything in the developed world, including Australia,” Mark P. Thirlwell, program director for international economics at the Lowy Institute for International Policy, told the New York Times.

China was actually the first country to sign an energy deal with Iraq in the post-Saddam era. CNPC last year agreed to a $3 billion deal to develop the Ahdab oil field, 100 miles southeast of Baghdad.

Sinopec Corp. and CNOOC Ltd (NYSE ADR: CEO) are among the other Chinese energy firms vying for a stake in Iraq.

Iraq has the world’s third-largest proven petroleum reserves, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). But while the country boasts proven petroleum reserves of 112 billion barrels, the EIA estimates that up to 90% of the country remains unexplored. Only 2,000 wells have been drilled in Iraq, versus approximately 1 million in the state of Texas alone. Iraq would easily have another 100 billion barrels of oil buried beneath its uncharted territories.

“If you want China to be a responsible stakeholder in the world, you need to let China buy stakes in the world,” the Lowy Institute’s Thirlwell, said during a speech in Hong Kong on Tuesday.