ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Iraqi government on Sunday signed an agreement with the US-based Halliburton company to increase production at two oilfields in the southern province of Basra, announced the oil ministry, as Baghdad continues to attract US investment.
The ministry said in a statement that the "integrated management contract” with the American firm is aimed at expanding Ben Omar and Sindbad fields in Basra, citing Oil Minister Basem Mohammed Khudair al-Abadi as stating that the move is part of Baghdad’s “plans and strategy to increase production capacities at the level of oil and gas, within the future vision of Mr. Ali al-Zaidi's government for investment in the energy sector,” referring to Iraq’s new prime minister.
“The ministry is moving forward with signing contracts with major international companies, particularly American firms,” Abadi added, underscoring the “reliability” of Halliburton to undertake the joint venture.
The statement noted that the Basra Oil Company (BOC) - the largest state-owned government subsidiary - will implement a strategy to “increase production capacities for both oil and gas” in Bin Omar and Sindibad fields in Basra.
Baghdad has started to offer lucrative oil deals to US companies.
The oil ministry statement was quickly followed by an X post from the US embassy in Baghdad, shedding light on the Charge d'Affaires Joshua Harris’ week-long visit to Basra.
“His visit underscores our shared commitment to increasing American investments in Iraq's economic growth. The message was clear: Iraq possesses tremendous potential, and our strong partnership is poised to unleash it,” the embassy said.
Under integrated management contracts, BOC remains the primary state operator while Halliburton provides advanced digital modeling and subsurface/surface project management to optimize the fields.
The agreement involves a comprehensive data-sharing initiative to map out technical and economic models to maximize both crude recovery and associated gas capture. Under the deal, production rates are expected to reach 150,000 barrels per day (bpd) in Bin Umar and between 80,000 to 100,000 bpd in Sindibad.
Associated gas production in Bin Umar is expected to be 300 million standard cubic feet per day and in Sindibat to touch 260 million, according to the oil ministry.
The BOC on Wednesday signed a non-disclosure agreement with another US oil giant, Chevron, allowing the firm to examine the West Qurna-2 field. It also promised to offer additional “significant business opportunities” to the company and other firms.
In a joint statement in mid-June, Zaidi and US Envoy to Iraq and Syria Tom Barrack said US firms "to resume operations with full security guarantees," alongside plans to lease electricity and liquefied gas tenders to additional US firms.
US oil companies were targeted by Iranian drones and missiles before and during the nearly six-week war between Iran, Iraq, and Israel, which began in late February and ended in early April.
Furthermore, the international oil cartel, OPEC+, also on Sunday approved increasing output by 188,000 bpd by Iraq and other six countries.
This adjustment allows regional producers to gradually restart massive amounts of shut-in production as regional maritime shipping normalizes.
