Kirkuk Oil Production Targeted to Reach 1.5 Million Bpd
BP is implementing a phased plan to raise production from four Kirkuk oil fields to 1.5 million barrels per day while rehabilitating aging pipelines and production stations.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - British energy company BP is moving ahead with a phased plan to raise oil production from four Kirkuk fields to as much as 1.5 million barrels per day, according to a source at Iraq's North Oil Company.
The source, who asked not to be named, told Kurdistan24's correspondent Hemn Delo on Friday that the work is being carried out under BP's 25-year agreement with the Iraqi government, valued at $25 billion.
The first production target is 450,000 barrels per day, before output is increased in later stages to 900,000 barrels, then 1.25 million barrels and ultimately 1.5 million barrels per day over the life of the agreement.
The plan covers the Kirkuk, Bai Hassan, Jambur and Khabbaz oil fields.
According to the source, BP has formed a team and is working with several Iraqi companies to rehabilitate the infrastructure needed to support higher production.
The initial work includes repairing pipelines that connect oil wells to production stations.
Many of those pipelines are old and require significant rehabilitation before they can handle larger production volumes.
The next phase will involve laying new pipelines from drilled fields and connecting them to existing stations.
After that, attention will turn to upgrading the production stations themselves.
The source said most of the stations were constructed in the 1970s and have become outdated, making modernization an important part of the expansion plan.
Work has already begun, with both infrastructure development and production increases being carried out gradually under the agreement.
Kirkuk's oil fields currently produce nearly 300,000 barrels per day.
Of that amount, around 180,000 barrels per day are exported through the Kurdistan Region's oil pipeline, while the remainder is directed toward domestic consumption.
The proposed increase therefore represents a major expansion from current production levels.
However, the source stressed that the target will not be reached immediately, with BP's plan dependent on successive stages of pipeline rehabilitation, new connections, station upgrades and field development.