Iraq and the US energy giant Chevron signed deals on Monday to manage and develop several oil fields, including one previously operated by Russia’s Lukoil.
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani’s media office said “two preliminary memoranda of principles” were signed with Chevron, the first of which was “concerning the transfer of management of the West Qurna 2 field,” one of the world’s largest oil fields.
The second agreement concerns the development of the Nasiriyah field and four exploratory blocks in Dhi Qar province in the country’s south, as well as the Balad field in the northern province of Salah al-Din.
Iraq had previously invited US companies to bid on the West Qurna 2 field, which was operated by the Russian company Lukoil that is now sanctioned by Washington over the Ukraine war.
The state-owned Basra Oil Company, Lukoil and Chevron Corporation also signed a framework agreement that temporarily transfers the contract to Basra Oil Company, which will assign it to Chevron once negotiations conclude and the terms of a new contract are agreed, the statement said.
The framework agreement “grants Chevron exclusive negotiation rights for a period of one year”.
Iraqi authorities and Lukoil had agreed on a settlement that includes a temporary transfer of the contract to the Basra Oil Company, as well as “the settlement of all outstanding financial entitlements,” the prime minister’s office said.
Tom Barrack, the US Special Envoy to Syria and ambassador to Turkey who has recently visited Iraq multiple times, attended the signing ceremony.
The prime minister’s office introduced him as the US Special Envoy to Iraq, a title not confirmed by Washington.
Authorities in oil-rich Iraq, which has recently regained a semblance of stability after decades of conflict, hope to attract investment, notably from US companies, across various sectors of the economy.
Iraq is a founding member of the OPEC cartel, and crude oil sales make up 90 percent of the country’s budget revenues.
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