Iraq's oil revenues drop by 17.6 percent in June Associated Press Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Updated 02:38 a.m., Monday, July 2, 2012 [...] the country is rapidly expanding production to levels not seen since before the U.S.-led invasion, and it is expected to overtake Iran as the second-largest exporter in OPEC soon, especially as new EU sanctions took effect this week to punish Iran for its suspected nuclear weapons program. Iraq sits atop the world's fourth largest proven reserves of conventional crude of about 143.1 billion barrels, but decades of sanctions, war, sabotage and negligence have battered the sector. Since 2008, it has been planning to build up its energy sector to bring in the badly needed cash.