Iraq signs MoU with BP to redevelop Kirkuk oil fields
Shafaq News/ Iraq signed aMemorandum of Understanding (MoU) with BP, the integrated oil and gas company,to develop the four Kirkuk oil fields, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani'smedia office announced on Wednesday.
The MoU was signed in London onTuesday evening to “assess the feasibility of a comprehensive redevelopmentprogram for four oil fields in Kirkuk,” according to the media officestatement. “The signing ceremony was attended by Deputy Prime Minister andMinister of Oil Hayan Abdul Ghani Al-Sawad. The MoU was signed on behalf ofIraq by the Director General of North Oil Company, Amer Khalil Ahmed, and onbehalf of BP by the company’s Iraq Branch Manager, Zaid Al-Yasiri.”
The statement added, "The MoUaims to assign the project for rehabilitating and developing the four oilfields operated by the North Oil Company in Kirkuk to BP. The objective is toenhance production and achieve optimal targeted rates of oil and gas output.”
Notably, the Kirkuk oil field is theoldest in Iraq and the second-largest in the world by production capacity. It isthe fifth-largest globally, with oil reserves exceeding 10 billion barrels ofhigh-quality crude.
The Iraqi Ministry of Oil recentlyannounced plans to develop the fields by enhancing technical, economic, andcontractual aspects, while confirming ongoing negotiations with BP to operatethe four North Oil Company fields in Kirkuk—Bai Hassan, Kirkuk, Jambour, andKhabbaz—to boost production and support the government’s plan to utilizeassociated gas for electricity generation.
