BAGHDAD, (Reuters) – Iraq joined a global  transparency initiative yesterday in a bid to heal its  reputation as a nation plagued by corruption and misuse of its  vast oil wealth.

Ranked fifth from the bottom of Transparency International’s  corruption list of 180 nations, Iraq is in the process of  signing deals with foreign oil companies it hopes will catapult  it to major producer status.

Iraq signed on the Extractive Industries Transparency  Initiative, which establishes a worldwide standard for  transparency in oil, gas and mining by pushing companies to  disclose what they pay in taxes and royalties to governments,  and for governments to disclose the receipt of such payments.

“Today we announce (that Iraq is) joining the Transparency  Initiative, which is dealing with oil and gas, the most  important resources of Iraq,” Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said  in a speech to government officials, World Bank representatives,  and other groups.

EITI, based in Oslo, Norway, describes itself as a coalition  of civil society groups, companies, governments, international  organisations and investors focused on good governance in  resource-rich countries.

Torn by years of war and sanctions, Iraq relies on oil for  90 percent of government revenues and is contracting with global  majors to refurbish its neglected oil infrastructure and develop  some of the world’s largest remaining oilfields with the hope of  becoming a leading producer.

It has the world’s third largest oil reserves, but is  currently just the 11th-largest producer. Deals agreed in recent  weeks could boost daily output from 2.5 million barrels per day  to around 12 million bpd in six years.

“The Oil Ministry is managing most of the downstream works  in the country and 90 percent of the budget comes from these  activities, so this is one of the reasons why we are keen to  join this initiative,” oil minister Hussain al-Shahristani said.

As a permanent member of EITI, Iraq will be required to  issue annual reports on crude production and revenue and oil  companies working in the country will have to submit reports on  production. Officials said they expected Iraq to become a  permanent member in March.