A top executive for a Chinese oil firm said that China is willing to partner with Exxon Mobil to extract oil from an Iraqi oil project. This partnership may lead to China dominating Iraqi oil extraction and at the same time be the go-between to heal fractured the relationship between the US and Iraq.

This comes after Exxon offering to sell its stake in West Qurna-1 oilfield in southern Iraq after clashing with Baghdad over contracts the US firm signed with autonomous Kurdistan. These deals are viewed by Baghdad as illegal.

From this offer, China National Petroleum Corp has become the top bidder for the stake of Exxon. Behind the scenes, Iraqi PM Nuri al-Maliki is working to retain the US oil company, even offering a US$50 billion investment project and greater access to richer oil fields in a structure similar to the Kurdish deal.

With these available options, Exxon is now contemplating whether to withdraw the sale offer or offer to sell a part of the block to CNPC.