The Independent of London is reporting the Iraqi government is drafting a new law that would give big oil companies such as BP, Shell and Exxon 30-year contracts to extract Iraqi crude. The law is expected to come before the Iraqi Parliament within days. Foreign oil companies would be allowed to take up to 75 percent of the profits until they have recouped initial drilling costs. After that, they would collect about 20 percent of all profits — that is about twice the industry average for such deals. The oil law would allow the first large-scale operation of foreign oil interests in the country since the industry was nationalized in 1972.