Iraq’s Ministry of Oil transferred operations at four northern fields to a joint operating authority on Oct. 15, setting targets to raise production above the area’s current level.
The fields are Kirkuk, Bai Hassan, Jambur and Khabbaz. The ministry said operations moved from state-run North Oil Company and North Gas Company to the joint authority, while describing BP as the project’s strategic partner. It set a target of 450,000 barrels of oil per day and a goal to use 500 million standard cubic feet of gas daily. The ministry statement did not specify a timetable.
Kurdistan24 reported that the fields currently produce nearly 300,000 barrels per day. The target is part of a 25-year redevelopment agreement. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said BP was slated to invest up to $25 billion over the agreement’s term. Its July 2025 brief listed an earlier capacity target of 420,000 barrels per day, while the ministry’s newer statement set an oil-production target of 450,000 barrels per day.
BP said it would work with the two state companies and the new operator. Its plans include additional drilling, improvements to existing wells and facilities, and construction for gas expansion. The company said its fees would vary with added production, prices and costs. BP may also record a portion of production and reserves in line with fees earned, and it cited potential local job creation and supply-chain benefits.
BP announced the final agreement in 2025. The company said it was part of the consortium that discovered oil in Kirkuk in the 1920s and conducted redevelopment studies from 2013 to 2019.
The ministry said a later phase would train ministry staff and transfer technical expertise and technology. The project also includes service facilities for nearby residents. Kurdistan24 reported that pipeline repairs, new pipeline connections and production-station upgrades are successive steps toward the production goal, but gave no dates for the work.
