BP chief says company is weighing new Iraqi export routes

Summary

• BP CEO Meg O'Neill said the company has no plans to pull back from the Middle East.
• BP is working with Iraq's government on options for new export routes, including a northern route.
• The remarks signal continued BP commitment to Iraq as export capacity options are reassessed.

The latest

BP is examining options for new oil export routes with the Iraqi government, including a northern route, Chief Executive Meg O'Neill said at the Energy Intelligence conference in London on Monday. She said the company has no intention of shying away from the Middle East. O'Neill did not set out a timeline for any decision on the routes under discussion.

Details

• The remarks: O'Neill told the Energy Intelligence conference in London that BP has no intention of shying away from the Middle East, according to Reuters. The comment was delivered Monday, in a public setting attended by industry executives, and framed the region as a continuing part of the company's portfolio rather than one it is reducing.
• The Iraq file: O'Neill said BP is working with the Iraqi government to understand options for new export routes, Reuters reported. She described the work as understanding options rather than a concluded plan, and did not say which Iraqi fields or volumes the routes would serve.
• The northern route: Among the options under examination is a northern export route, according to O'Neill's remarks reported by Reuters. She did not identify the infrastructure involved, the partners on the Iraqi side, or the capacity any such route would carry.
• What was not said: O'Neill gave no timeline for a decision, no cost estimate, and no indication of whether BP would invest directly in route infrastructure. Reuters reported the remarks without additional commitments from the company on Iraqi output or spending.
• The reporting: The account was filed by Reuters correspondents Anushree Mukherjee, Shadia Nasralla and Stephanie Kelly in London, and edited by Joe Bavier. It was published on 5 October 2026 and carried by Zawya.
• The venue: The Energy Intelligence conference in London is an industry forum where oil company executives set out strategy positions. O'Neill used the platform to address regional posture rather than to announce a transaction or a project decision.
• The framing: Reuters presented the Iraqi export routes as the operational substance behind O'Neill's broader regional message. The two points were delivered together: a general commitment to the Middle East, and a specific workstream with Baghdad on how crude reaches market.

Background

BP is among the international oil companies with long-standing operations in Iraq, where crude export capacity has been shaped by the available pipeline and terminal routes out of the country.

Between the lines

The two statements reported by Reuters carry different weight. A pledge not to retreat from the Middle East is a positioning line; the disclosure that BP is examining export routes with Baghdad, including a northern one, is operational. Naming a northern option publicly — without capacity, cost or timeline — points to work at an early stage rather than a decision.

What's next

Watch for any Iraqi government statement identifying the routes under discussion, a BP announcement naming capacity or infrastructure, and the company's next scheduled results presentation for spending commitments in Iraq.

Source: Reuters, via Zawya