Iraq is mulling an oil hedging program to lock in prices for future crude sales, potentially topping a similar deal run by Mexico that is considered the largest energy trade in Wall Street, Bloomberg reported.

If Iraq goes ahead, that would require contracts giving price protection to about 400m barrels a year of crude, according to Bloomberg calculations.

Although oil hedging is common in the private sector, for example by U.S. shale producers to lock-in revenues and airlines to guarantee a maximum price for their jet-fuel, they are rare among oil-producing countries. On top of Mexico, only a handful other nations have publicly disclosed hedging programs, including Ecuador and Ghana.

In related news, after setting up a new oil-trading firm with Russia’s Litasco, Iraq’s state marketer SOMO is considering similar ventures in shipping and oil storage, Hellenic Shipping News informed.

The new venture, LIMA Energy, is establishing a team to work at the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) and would trade in Iraqi crude, Russian crude and other crudes.

The company is expected to initially handle 2mb/m of Basrah Light crude with the scope of increasing those volumes further in the future, SOMO’s Head, Falah Alamri, said at the CWC Iraq Petroleum Conference. The company is entitled to 50% of the company’s profits, he added.