bp signs agreement to develop Iraqi oil fields

bp and the Government of the Republic of Iraq reached contractual agreements on several oil fields in Kirkuk. The contracts provide for rehabilitation and redevelopment of the fields including oil, gas, power, and water with potential for investment in exploration.

The agreement is for an initial phase and includes oil and gas production of more than 3 billion boe. It includes the Baba and Avanah domes of Kirkuk oil field and three adjacent fields, Bai Hassan, Jambur, and Khabbaz, in Federal Iraq. All these field are currently operated by North Oil Company (NOC). 

The wider resource opportunity across the contract and surrounding area is believed to include up to 20 billion boe.

Work will include a drilling program, the rehabilitation of existing wells and facilities, and the construction of new infrastructure, including gas expansion projects.

Execution of the agreement will follow upon endorsement by the Council of Ministers, after which bp will work closely under the guidance of the Government of Iraq in setting up the new operator, which will be an unincorporated organization comprising predominantly personnel from the NOC and North Gas Company (NGC), but also with secondees from bp.

The new operating organization will take over operations at Kirkuk from NOC. bp expects to form a standalone incorporated joint venture to hold its interests in the operator.

The agreement follows a memorandum of understanding between bp and Iraq signed in July 2024 – of which technical terms were agreed in December and the majority of commercial terms agreed in January – together with previous work bp has done on the fields in Kirkuk from 2013 to 2019 (OGJ Online, Aug. 2, 2024).

bp expects the project to begin in 2025, subject to final governmental ratification.