Kirkuk oil deal to boost local economy: BP

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - British Petroleum’s (BP) Iraq branch chief on Tuesday said that the company’s new agreement to redevelop four key oilfields in Kirkuk province will bolster the local economy and is expected to be finalized in February.

“I believe that the project will have a great added value to Kirkuk province in particular and the neighboring governorates and Iraq in general,” Zaid Elyaseri, head of BP in Iraq told Rudaw’s Ziyad Ismail.

Earlier in the month an Iraqi delegation headed by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani had an official visit to London where they signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with British energy giant BP to redevelop four oilfields in Kirkuk province. The deal was signed by Iraqi Oil Minister Hayyan Abdul Ghani and Elyaseri.

“We are continuing [negotiations] with the oil ministry regarding the agreement on Kirkuk's fields,” he said.

“The idea behind this agreement is to rehabilitate and develop these for four fields and work on integrating oil and gas activities,” Elyaseri said.

The four fields include Baba Avana, Bay Hasan, Jambour, and Khabbaz, according to Elyaseri.

The fields are operated by the state-run North Oil Company - one of the 16 companies comprising the Iraqi oil ministry - with its headquarters in Kirkuk.

Elyaseri said that they are “committed to working with the existing cadres in the North Oil Company.”

He noted they might finalize the deal with Baghdad at the beginning of February, adding that the project could “stimulate the local economy by working with local companies and providing job opportunities.”

BP has been working in Kirkuk’s oil fields since the Iraqi federal government’s return to power in Kirkuk in October 2017. Previously, Kurdish Peshmerga forces were in control of the oil fields in Kirkuk, following the collapse of the Iraqi army in 2014 during the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS).