US OIL FIRMS SIGN DEALS WITH IRAQ TO DEVELOP ALTERNATIVE SHIPPING ROUTES U.S. companies signed roughly $60 billion in agreements and partnerships with the Iraqi government Friday, including deals intended to create alternative routes for shipping oil out of the Persian Gulf. The deals, signed at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, also involved other industries, including healthcare, communications and infrastructure. It's not clear when the oil deals will be able to create viable alternatives to the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world's oil flows. Goldman Sachs estimates that pipelines in just one country take at least two and a half years to build, and these pipelines would travel through two or more nations. Full article: https://abcnews.com/Business/wireStory/us-oil-firms-sign-deals-iraq-develop-alternative-134859838(FXHedge)