Iraq signs joint agreement to develop two oilfields in southwestern Iran

Iran and Iraq have agreed to sign a contract to jointly develop "two small oilfields" in the southwestern Iranian region of Khorramshahr.

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – Iran and Iraq have agreed to sign a contract to jointly develop “two small oilfields” in the southwestern Iranian region of Khorramshahr, the deputy head of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) said on Wednesday.

“We are cooperating with Iraq in some oilfields, and an agreement on jointly developing two small oilfields in Khorramshahr was signed,” NIOC deputy head Gholamreza Manouchehri told Iranian media.

The two oilfields to be developed are the Azadegan Oilfield and the Yaran Oilfield, according to Manouchehri who said the “deal would be signed shortly.”

“Talks conducted by NIOC on developing oil and gas fields are bearing fruit, and hopefully the outcome will be evident in [2018],” the Iranian official added.

In December 2017, Baghdad signed a one-year agreement with Tehran to export crude oil from Kirkuk fields to Iran.

“This agreement is for one year, and then we will see after that whether to renew it,” Iraqi Oil Minister Jabar al-Luaibi had said.

The deal allows Iraq to resume the production and sale of crude from Kirkuk where between 30,000 to 60,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) will be delivered by tanker trucks to the border area of Kermanshah in Iran.

Kirkuk is one of the largest oilfields in the Middle East, estimated to contain around nine billion barrels of recoverable oil.

In the past years, oil from the disputed province of Kirkuk was transferred through the Kurdistan Region’s oil pipeline to the Ceyhan port in Turkey.

However, following the Oct. 16 military takeover of the disputed area by Iraqi forces and Iranian-backed Hashd al-Shaabi militias, the oil export to Turkey was halted.