By Alan Quartly BBC in Kogalym, Siberia

Grimacing against the biting wind, master driller Sergei Kharitonov watches as his crew of oilmen bore another few metres into the Siberian earth in sub-zero temperatures.

They've got 3,000 metres to go before they hit the oil, but they're making steady progress.

Sergei Kharitonov wants to go back to Iraq to work

For them this is a good earner - they're making at least $600 a month, which is big bucks for Russian oil workers.

With high oil prices being the saviour of the Russian economy, Moscow put enormous effort into expanding oil production in western Siberia in the mid-1980s.

The town of Kogalym, three hours' flying time east of Moscow, was built as a symbol of hoped-for oil wealth.

Sergei, a Siberian oilfields' veteran with more than 20 years' service, knows how vital the black stuff is for prosperity.

And he knows the company he works for, Lukoil, has plans to expand beyond its home reserves.

"Work in Iraq? Why not?! I think you should go abroad at least once or twice in your life! But I don't think they should let a war happen," he says.

Thousands of men like Sergei worked in Iraq in Soviet times, exploring the country's untapped oil reserves and building the infrastructure and equipment necessary to get Baghdad's oil industry off the ground.

But first the Iran-Iraq war, then the Gulf war, interrupted Russia's adventure in the Iraqi oilfields.

Contracts

Lukoil has tried to boost Moscow's hand there in recent years. In 1997 it signed a 23-year agreement with Baghdad to develop the Western al-Qurna oilfield.

The equipment in Iraq and the conditions of the fields there are very similar to what was in Russia in the early 1990s Vladimir Semyonov Lukoil technical manager

It's potentially a multi-billion dollar project. But it's been unable to move forward in recent years due to the continuing restrictions imposed by United Nations sanctions.

Russian oil specialists in Siberia, the region producing around 65% of Lukoil's output, are convinced it's Moscow's men who are best suited to operate in Iraq.

"The equipment in Iraq and the conditions of the fields there are very similar to what was in Russia in the early 1990s,"' says Vladimir Semyonov, a technical manager in Lukoil's Western Siberia branch.

"Knowing all the problems we can bump into there, it will be very easy to adjust the equipment in the Iraqi fields today to world standards."

But it's not just a desire to demonstrate expertise which is driving Russian oil concerns in Iraq.

It's a big risk to put funds into developing oil production in Iraq. But if it happens and oil production gets under way there, then the risk will be justified Nikolai Inyushin Lukoil manager

Thanks to its potential reserves of 7.8 billion barrels in unexploited fields like Western Qurna, Iraq is one of the few countries realistically able to repay Moscow the huge debt it notched up during Soviet times. At the moment it's estimated Iraq owes $8 billion to the Russian Government, plus interest.

Things were going well in the late 1990s with Russian oil companies lifting $4 billion worth of Iraqi oil under the UN "oil for food" programme.

But with a new conflict looming in the Gulf, Russia is fighting a rearguard action to defend its oil interests.

"It's a big risk to put funds into developing oil production in Iraq. But if it happens and oil production gets under way there, then the risk will be justified," says Nikolai Inyushin, one of Lukoil's top managers in Siberia.

Respect for Iraq

Against the background of a huge Anglo-American build-up in the Gulf, Russian executives have realised they could be about to see years of carefully cultivated plans slip through their fingers.

Oil revenue from Iraq would prove vital to Moscow

They've done all they can in recent weeks - supported directly by the government in Moscow - to remind the world of the Russian card in Iraq.

In mid-January, business leaders were signing deals with Iraqi oil officials in Baghdad. Lukoil, which had its Western Qurna agreement apparently cancelled by Saddam Hussein's government in December after allegations from Baghdad that it was trying to close deals with opposition figures, has claimed it is now back in favour.

An oil insider in Russia, Yury Shafranik, heads the Russia-Iraq co-operation committee - widely seen as the Russian Government's main conduit for relations with Baghdad. Even with pressure mounting to oust Saddam, Russian business - with billions of dollars to play for - is still loyal.

"I don't think the regime there is extremely harsh. The Russian government and the Russian business look with respect on the leadership and the system of government. So why try and push us into a corner to say if we are for or against Saddam," says Mr Shafranik.

Some contact is better than no contact at all. That's the way Russian business is thinking at the moment, according to oil analyst Stephen O'Sullivan.

Back in Kogalym, Russia's future oil specialists are relaxing in the town's glistening, super-modern pool and bowling hall - a gift of a magnanimous oil company and proof, if it was needed, of where Russia's real wealth could come from.

"The oil price is very good for Russia! People live here to work and earn money," giggles Oleg, a student from the local Oil and Gas University.

Russia's oil bosses will be watching with trepidation in the coming weeks to see if things continue quite so well for them.