The Guardian said although senior Bush administration officials say they have not begun to focus on issues involving oil and Iraq, US and foreign oil companies have already began manoeuvring for a stake in Iraq's huge reserves of 112 billion barrels of oil - second only to Saudi Arabia.

Many commentators believe the Bush administration is using oil as a bargaining chip in negotiations to win backing from the UN Security Council and Western Allies for a 'regime change' in Iraq.

All five members of the Security Council - United States, Britain, France, Russia and China - have international oil companies with major stakes in a change of leadership in Baghdad.

The mere prospect of a new Iraqi government has fanned concerns by many non-American oil companies that they will be excluded by the United States, which would be the dominant foreign power in Iraq after Saddam's demise.

Representatives of many foreign oil concerns have been meeting with leaders of the Iraqi opposition to make their case for a future stake and to sound them about their intentions, the Guardian said.