"We are in discussions with a number of other companies," Ashti Hawrami told the Financial Times.

"It is more likely that the contractors will come (to Kurdistan) to start with and set up a base to hopefully then invest in the rest of Iraq."

"It is 15 (contractors) we want to end up with. If we get another 10, I'll be very happy with myself. We need to keep the momentum going."

Under the terms of a draft oil law expected to go before the Iraqi parliament in the next two months, Iraq's oil industry will be overseen by a Federal Oil Council and an independent national oil firm.

Revenue will be concentrated in a federal account, and redistributed to provinces on the basis of their populations, which would give the Kurds around 18 to 20 percent of the national cake.

This represents a concession from the Kurdistan Regional Government, which wanted to retain revenues from newly-developed fields on its territory, but in return they have won the right to oversee development.

Kurdistan has had an autonomous status since Iraq's defeat in the 1991 Gulf War over Kuwait.

The northern regions of Iraq are peaceful compared to the war-ravaged country's centre and west where bitter sectarian strife and a raging anti-US insurgency have left thousands dead.