ConocoPhillips has agreed to buy a 42% stake in BP's Kirkuk oil venture, while Chevron advances two of southern Iraq's largest fields. The moves come as Baghdad targets a jump in national output to 8–10 million barrels per day within six years, and as Washington looks to capitalize on Russia's retreat from the country and curb Chinese influence over its oil sector.
ConocoPhillips and Chevron expand in Iraq
ConocoPhillips has agreed to acquire a 42% interest in BP Energy Company of Kirkuk Limited, backing the redevelopment of five producing fields in northern Iraq: the Baba and Avanah domes of the Kirkuk field, plus the Bai Hassan, Jambur, and Khabbaz fields. The deal follows BP's activation, on October 2 last year, of a $25 billion, five-pronged oil and gas megadeal. That project targets a preliminary output of 328,000 barrels per day, rising to at least 450,000 bpd within two to three years, according to a source close to Iraq's Oil Ministry.
Chevron, meanwhile, is moving forward on two of southern Iraq's largest fields after Russia's Lukoil withdrew from West Qurna 2 under U.S. and British sanctions. The field holds roughly 14 billion barrels of reserves. It had been producing about 400,000 bpd, roughly 9% of Iraq's total output at the time, under Lukoil's 75% stake. Chevron's plan would lift production to 480,000 bpd in Phase 2, then add another 650,000 bpd in Phase 3, targeting an ultimate rate of 1.13 million bpd. Chevron also signed an addendum covering the 4.36-billion-barrel Nasiriyah field in ThiQar province, first discovered in 1975.
Baghdad targets 8-10 million bpd
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi said last week the country plans to raise oil production to between 8 million and 10 million bpd within six years. Iraq holds a conservatively estimated 145 billion barrels of proved crude oil reserves — nearly 18% of the Middle East's total and the fifth-biggest in the world. Its lifting cost runs $2 to $4 per barrel, among the lowest globally alongside Iran and Saudi Arabia. Chevron's West Qurna 2 expansion also supports Iraq's broader goal of topping 6 million bpd of production by 2029.
Washington moves to curb Russian and Chinese influence
The deals follow a period in which Russian and Chinese firms expanded their footprint in Iraq after Washington's 2018 exit from the Iran nuclear deal. By the start of Donald Trump's second term in 2025, Chinese companies managed around 34% of Iraq's proven reserves and two-thirds of its full-capacity production, while Russia held sway over much of northern Iraq's crude oil sector through its position in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region. Since then, U.S. sanctions have forced Russian companies out of the Kurdistan Region, while Washington has also fired sanctions warning shots at Beijing over Iran and Iraq.
Source: Oilprice.com
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