Iraq signs deal with BP over Kirkuk oil in Basra

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Iraqi Ministry of Oil announced that it has signed a deal with the British Petroleum to develop oilfields in the disputed Kirkuk province.

The Oil Ministry, in a statement on Monday, announced signing of an agreement with British Petroleum (BP) firm to increase oil production in Kirkuk oil fields.

Iraqi Oil Minister Jabbar al-Luaibi said that the deal with the BP aims at developing the Kirkuk oil fields and propose solutions for gas investment associated with the oil production.

Luaibi added that the deal signed with BP will help the state-run North Oil Company (NOC) to formulate a plan that would triple output from the Kirkuk fields.

“Decline of oil production in Kirkuk fields due to the challenges faced the province in the past years, requires comprehensive reevaluation of the oil installations and finding required technical solutions through using the latest technology which is what the BP will be doing,” the Iraqi official stated.

Based on the amended Letter of Intent signed in Basra, Ministry of Oil has expanded the scope of the deal with BP by including some major oil fields currently managed by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

“Under the deal, BP will boost output capacity from six fields in the Kirkuk region to a total of more than 1 million barrels per day (bpd),” Reuters reported.