WORLD NEWS: "China Faces Unexpected Problem Drilling for Oil in Iraq--Farmers," by Gina Chon, Wall Street Journal, 22 May 2009.

Sinopec is finding local relations a tough row to hoe in Iraq. I guess it's just not used to peasants who not only stand in its way but refuse to budge until sufficient compensation is offered.

Yes, eventually compromises are achieved, but it shows how, as one farmer put it, Sinopec should have been smarter about working with the locals from the beginning, where land ownership remains in doubt in many instances.

Of course, local Iraqi officials tend to be more embarrassed, and should be.

The point we make with Development-in-a-Box‚Ñ¢ is that the outside investor wants his money to trigger better rules and enable local counterparty capacity to grow, not merely reveal the lack of solid rules and create confusion about where the local counterparty capacity actually should reside. In sum, it is a highly iterative process. There is no waiting on the perfect law; just showing your commitment to leave the place more connected (both in infrastructure and capacity for further deal-making) than you found it.