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British Petroleum is seeking partners to help boost production and share costs at one of the oldest oil fields in the Middle East, Saudi press reports have said.
The search is already underway to find potential investors for the Kirkuk oil field in Iraq, and that the timing of any agreement remains uncertain, noting that the process could continue into next year, Asharq business website said.
Major oil companies are showing renewed interest in Iraq, which has abundant oil reserves that are often easier and cheaper to produce than in other parts of the Middle East, the report noted.
“BP is seeking to bolster its oil and gas production, abandoning a five-year drive toward clean energy and net-zero emissions that ended with little success,” it said.
The Kirkuk field development contract, signed last year, is a key part of BP's efforts to improve profitability. Media reports at the time indicated that annual costs would amount to nearly $1 billion over the 25-year contract.
In March 2025, BP signed a contract with North Oil Company (NOC) and North Gas Company (NGC) for the development of the Baba and Avanah domes of the Kirkuk oil field and three adjacent fields in Iraq – Bai Hassan, Jambur and Khabbaz, operated by the NOC.
The contract includes boosting oil production to a peak of 420,000 barrels per day, increasing gas output to 400 million cubic feet per day and the construction of a 400-MW power plant, an official Iraqi statement said.
The Oil Ministry said in 2024 that the four fields contain proven crude deposits of nearly 8.7 billion barrels.
BP had noted in a related statement that the wider resource opportunity across the contract and surrounding area is believed to include up to 20 billion barrels of oil equivalent. It said the agreement for the initial phase includes oil and gas production of more than 3 billion barrels of oil equivalent.
(Writing by N Saeed; Editing by Anoop Menon)
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