Iraq hands four Kirkuk oilfields to BP joint operator, targets 450,000 bpd

Summary

• Iraq moved operations of four Kirkuk fields to a joint operating entity with BP.
• Target is 450,000 barrels per day plus 500 million cubic feet of associated gas daily.
• The handover sets the path for northern Iraq's output growth and gas capture.

The latest

Operational management of the Kirkuk, Bai Hassan, Khabbaz and Jambur fields has passed from state-owned North Oil Company and North Gas Company to a joint operating entity with BP, Reuters reported citing an Oil Ministry statement. The stated goals are 450,000 barrels per day of crude and roughly 500 million standard cubic feet per day of associated gas. The ministry statement did not name the operating entity.

Details

• The fields: Four producing assets in Kirkuk governorate are covered by the transfer: Kirkuk, Bai Hassan, Khabbaz and Jambur, according to Reuters citing the Oil Ministry statement. All four had been run by two state companies, North Oil Company for crude and North Gas Company for gas operations.
• The output target: The joint operating entity is working toward 450,000 barrels per day from the four fields, per the ministry statement reported by Reuters. That figure is a target rather than a current production level, and no timeline for reaching it was given in the statement.
• The gas side: Alongside crude, the plan covers utilization of about 500 million standard cubic feet per day of associated gas, Reuters reported citing the ministry. Associated gas is produced together with oil and has historically been flared at Iraqi fields rather than captured for power generation or processing.
• The minister's framing: Oil Minister Basim Mohammed Khudair told the Iraqi News Agency on Friday that developing the Kirkuk fields in partnership with British Petroleum strengthens international companies' confidence in Iraq's investment environment, describing that environment as secure, stable and attractive to global firms.
• Who operates: The ministry statement did not identify the joint operating entity by name, according to Reuters. It described the structure as a shared operating vehicle with BP rather than a full transfer of the assets away from Iraqi state ownership.
• The state companies: North Oil Company and North Gas Company, both government-owned, relinquish operational management under the arrangement. The ministry statement set out no change to their legal ownership of the fields and did not describe their role inside the new operating entity.
• No contract value: Neither the minister's remarks to the Iraqi News Agency nor the Oil Ministry statement carried by Reuters disclosed a financial value for the arrangement, investment commitments, or the duration of BP's involvement in the four fields.
• The timing: Reuters published the ministry statement on Thursday, 15 October 2026, with the minister's comments to the Iraqi News Agency following on Friday. No start date for operations under the new entity was announced.

Background

Kirkuk is one of Iraq's oldest producing areas, developed decades before the country's southern megafields. BP has engaged with the Kirkuk field through earlier studies and agreements with Iraq's Oil Ministry aimed at arresting decline rates at the aging asset.

Between the lines

Two numbers define the ambition here. The 450,000 bpd target and the 500 million cubic feet of associated gas are paired, which points to a single integrated plan rather than a crude-only revival. The minister's investment-climate framing, delivered a day after the ministry statement, suggests Baghdad is treating the handover as a signal to other international operators as much as an operational decision.

What's next

Watch for the naming of the joint operating entity, disclosure of the contract terms and duration, a declared baseline for current Kirkuk output, and any timeline for the associated gas capture facilities.

Source: Iraqi News Agency (INA), Reuters citing Iraq's Oil Ministry