Foreign companies could soon be pumping Iraqi oil for the first time in nearly 40 years. This morning, the government of Iraq opened bids from oil companies interested in helping the country realize its oil production potential. No one knows, however, how much oil Iraq has. “It’s been poorly explored because of all the political turmoil there,” says Roger Diwan, a partner at the consulting firm PFC Energy. “With the Iraq-Iran war, the embargo, sanctions and the second gulf war here, we really haven’t had a good look at what’s in Iraq since the late 1960s.“ ”There’s still a lot of political risk involved in Iraq in the energy sector,” says David Gordon, head of global research at the Eurasia Group, a risk analysis firm. “On the other hand, it is this enormous opportunity. So companies want to get in the game without making a big investment, [while] Iraq as a country wants to force them to put some money on the table.” Oil is currently being pumped in Iraq, but production is far below its potential because the country has not invested in its oil infrastructure. For today’s auction, oil companies selected which fields interested them and specified how much they’d want to be paid for increasing production at the fields. The oil itself would still belong to the Iraqis, and the Iraqi government set a maximum on what fees it would pay. Iraq is currently pumping about 2.5 million barrels a day. With modern technology and foreign expertise, experts say, the country could produce four times as much. Three major public-sector labor unions in Honduras plan a general strike today in support of President Jose Manuel Zelaya, who was ousted in a military-led coup, a union official has stated.”It will be an indefinite strike,” said Oscar Garcia, vice president of the Honduran water workers union SANAA. ”We don’t recognize this new government imposed by the oligarchy and we will mount our campaign of resistance until President Manuel Zelaya is restored to power.“ Garcia estimated that 30,000 public-sector workers, as well as some private-sector workers and peasant farmers, might join the strike. Basic services such as water supply would not be disrupted, he said. Though deposed, Zelaya continued to carry out his presidential duties and was scheduled to speak before the U.N. General Assembly at 11 a.m. Tuesday. He attended a special meeting of the leftist group ALBA — the Spanish acronym for the Bolivarian Alliance of the Peoples of Our America — on Monday in Nicaragua. Taiwan has opened up key parts of its manufacturing and service sectors to mainland investment as another barrier falls across the Straits. The new rules announced today are part of Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou’s efforts to move the island’s economy closer to Chinese mainland, and foster a dialogue aimed at ending six decades of estrangement. Under the new rules, Chinese mainland companies will be able to invest in 100 categories of local business, including computer components, cell phones, car making and the building of resort hotels and commercial ports. But Taiwan is keeping the semiconductor, flat panel display, solar panel making and communications sectors to itself, to maintain its technological advantages. No specific investment caps have been imposed but officials said the percentage of mainland ownership in a Taiwanese firm will be subject to approval on a case-by-case basis. Under the new rules, mainland institutional investors will also be allowed to buy Taiwanese shares as long as the accumulated stock does not exceed 10 percent of a listed firm’s total share value. The new rules take effect immediately. ”We will start on a smaller scale and expand the scope when we see results of the (initial) investments,” said Deng Cheng-chung, Taiwan’s deputy economics chief.