BAGHDAD- Iraq plans to contract a foreign oil company to almost double the oil production capacity of the northern Kirkuk fields, to more than one million barrels per day, Oil Minister Jabar al-Luaibi said in a statement on Tuesday.

Luaibi, commenting on the Iraqi military operation that captured Kirkuk from Kurdish forces on Monday, said all the fields of the province have been returned to government control.

He warned Kurdish authorities against blocking the Kirkuk oil export pipeline, saying they would face legal action.



(Reporting by Maher Chmaytelli, editing by Louise Heavens) ((maher.chmaytelli@thomsonreuters.com; +9647901917030;))