Iraq's West Qurna 2 ​oilfield ⁠could nearly double its output to ‌750,000–800,000 barrels per day under Chevron, as ​the U.S. firm enters exclusive talks to ​take over ​operations from Russia's Lukoil, Iraq's Oil Minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani told ⁠Kurdish TV channel Rudaw.

• Iraq nationalised the West Qurna 2 field in January after U.S. ​sanctions ‌on Lukoil ⁠hampered its ⁠ability to operate internationally.

• The field, one ​of the world's ‌largest, accounts for ⁠about 10% of Iraq's oil production and 0.5% of global supply.

• Chevron has secured exclusive negotiation rights for one year to assume the project from the Basra Oil Company, which temporarily ‌took control.

• "Chevron has been pushing ⁠Iraq to improve returns ​on West Qurna 2," three sources familiar with the matter ​had told Reuters.

(Reporting ‌by Nayera Abdallah; ⁠Editing by Christopher ​Cushing Editing by Louise Heavens)