MILAN (AFP) ¡ª Italian energy giant Eni is considering investing in Iraq with the expected passage of new legislation on oil revenue distribution, the daily Corriere della Sera reported Monday.

"It will be possible ... to sign contracts in a new legislative framework," Eni CEO Paolo Scaroni was quoted as saying on the sidelines of an energy meeting in Rome.

The Italian company would initially go in for three- to four-year engineering projects, Corriere said.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said during a visit to Brussels last week that his country was close to adopting a key energy law to encourage investment, notably from the European Union.

The energy law is considered an essential step for national reconciliation in Iraq and to help attract investment in the sector.

Iraq lies atop the world's third largest reserves of crude oil, estimated at some 115 billion barrels, but is sorely lacking in infrastructure and the latest technologies -- to which it was denied access under years of international sanctions.

The draft law stipulates a fair distribution of oil revenues between Iraq's 18 provinces, a very sensitive matter in a country wracked by inter-communal violence.

International oil companies have hesitated to invest in Iraq until the new law is passed and implemented.

Eni, Italy's biggest industrial group, was not present in Iraq before the 2003 US-led invasion.