I need help understanding this article.?

See relatively unsophisticated countries with valuable resources often sell the rights to develop their resources, in this case oil, to foreign countries and foreign companies. Before the war I think the British or the French, British almost for certain, had the monopoly on the Iraq oil fields. These countries bring advanced technology and most important skilled workers to work the oil fields. I'm not sure how they split the money, but the country with the contract surely gets a reliable supply of oil.