ENERGY X

Chevron (CVX) will sign preliminary deals Friday to invest in two Iraqi oil fields and join a group of investors exploring the construction of a pipeline to connect Iraq's oil patch with the Syrian coast, as Iraq and other Middle East oil producers desperately seek alternatives to transiting the Strait of Hormuz, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.The deals with Chevron (CVX) are part of a broader push by new Iraqi Prime Minister Zaidi to shore up investment from the U.S., and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is scheduled to host a U.S.-Iraq Business Summit on Friday in Washington with Zaidi, U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, and others where $60B in deals will be signed, according to the report.