Russia’s second-largest oil producer Lukoil is withdrawing from its core energy interests in Iraq following the recent tightening of the sanctions noose around the country by the West. The latest prohibitions introduced by the U.S. on 22 October included measures directly aimed at Lukoil, and Russia’s top oil producer Rosneft. Between them, the two companies export approximately 3.1 million barrels of oil per day, which the West sees as vital to Russia’s ability to keep funding its war in Ukraine. Lukoil’s almost immediate…