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In a further boost for Iraq's oil and gas develoment prospects, Türkiye Petrolleri Anonim Ortaklığı (TPAO) is acquiring a 15% interest in BP Energy Company of Kirkuk Limited (BP ECKL), which is redeveloping several major oil and gas fields in the promising Kirkuk region of northern Iraq

Signed during the official visit of Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi to Türkiye, the move builds on the strategic cooperation Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by bp and Türkiye's national oil company in February 2026, and follows ConocoPhillips' recent acquisition of a 42% interest in BP ECKL. The two acquisitions bring together partners with complementary capabilities and expertise together with bp to support the next phase of redevelopment in Kirkuk. Following completion of the transaction, bp will remain the majority shareholder in BP ECKL with 43%.

Vast potential

Kirkuk, once among the most prolific regions globally, has vast potential, with a combined resource opportunity estimated at up to 20 billion barrels of oil equivalent.

bp received final government ratification for its contract to invest in the redevelopment of several giant oil fields in Kirkuk in March 2025, when bp said the investment will bring opportunity and growth to the Kirkuk region, as well as improving supply chain capability alongside job creation. Then bp executive vice president William Lin commented that the opportunity is fully in line with the company’s priority of pursuing new growth opportunities for bp as it strengthens and high-grades its portfolio across the world.

The contract between North Oil Company (NOC), North Gas Company (NGC) and bp includes the rehabilitation and redevelopment of the fields alongside investment in existing gas processing facilities, spanning oil, gas, power and water with potential for investment in exploration.

The Development and Production Contract covers an initial phase of oil and gas production of more than 3 billion barrels of oil equivalent from the Baba and Avanah domes of the Kirkuk oil field and the adjacent Bai Hassan, Jambur and Khabbaz fields in Federal Iraq, all currently operated by the North Oil Company (NOC) and North Gas Company (NGC). The contract area also includes additional exploration potential.

bp is drawing on its experience elsewhere in Iraq in developing Kirkuk, notably at the supergiant Rumaila field in southern Iraq, where with its partners it has helped to deliver a 40% increase in production since 2010. bp says it aims to grow a similar, modern upstream oil and gas industry centred around Kirkuk, bringing in technologies that transformed operations at Rumaila, such as real-time monitoring and digital surveillance. These can help to optimise well performance, predict and avert production issues, and facilitate data-driven decision making.

Chief executive officer Meg O’Neill said, “TPAO has been a trusted partner for more than 30 years through our work together across the Caspian region. This agreement builds on that long-standing relationship and, alongside our partnership with ConocoPhillips, positions us strongly for the next phase of redevelopment in Kirkuk. Kirkuk is a world-class resource base that can support Iraq's long-term energy ambitions, and we look forward to working closely with the Government of Iraq and our partners to deliver the next phase of redevelopment."

bp has a longstanding relationship with Iraq spanning more than a century with an involvement in both the north and south of the country. bp’s predecessor helped ‎Iraq to locate, produce and export oil from Baba Gurgur in Kirkuk, one of the largest oilfields ‎in the world at that time.

Oceaneering International has announced that its Integrity Management and Digital Solutions (IMDS) segment has been awarded a five-year inspection and asset integrity services contract by a Qatar-based oil company

The contract followed a competitive tender process and reinforces Oceaneering’s role in providing integrity management services in Qatar after operating in the country for more than 20 years.

Asset integrity challenges

Operators in the Middle East face multiple asset integrity challenges due to the high pressure, high temperature environment, the presence of H2S in sour gas which can accelerate corrosion and equipment degradation, and high production demands.

Furthermore, a growing share of oil and gas infrastructure across the Gulf is operating beyond its intended design life. New research from Integrated Global Services (IGS) found that 46% of operators report up to half of their assets are running beyond design life, raising reliability concerns as regional disruption linked to the Strait of Hormuz places additional strain on facilities.

Effective asset integrity management (AIM) strategies are therefore critical for safe and reliable operations, as well as to ensure compliance.

Under the contract, Oceaneering will deliver non-destructive testing, inspection services and value engineering, utilising its established local workforce and leveraging Inform, its digital inspection software. The scope may also include deploying Vision, a data visualisation platform.

What are the benefits of digital asset management?

Digital Asset Management combines engineering intelligence and 3D visualisation to maintain asset integrity, reduce risk, and improve decision making. By centralising inspection data and adding 3D visualisation, operators can identify anomalies earlier, plan maintenance proactively, and reduce unplanned downtime with better scheduling and resource use.
Inform is a modular Integrity Data Management System (IDMS) platform that digitises inspection workflows, centralises anomaly and risk data, and transforms it into actionable insights.

While Vision is a 3D visualisation platform that creates engineering grade models of topside and subsea assets for reliable comparison, anomaly tracking, and condition assessment over time. It is delivered as a cloud only application.

Together they create a living digital twin, one connected platform that unifies every record and model for integrity management. Operators can easily locate relevant documentation, allowing faster maintenance and integrity decisions while maintaining a complete audit trail.

Leo Granato, senior vice president of IMDS, said, “This award underscores our ability to deliver reliable, digitally enabled integrity solutions that enhance production reliability and asset uptime while supporting regulatory compliance. Our established team in Qatar enables safe and consistent execution of our innovative solutions, while deepening the development of local talent.”

At the S&P Global Energy Middle East Petroleum & Gas Conference (MPGC) held in London, Musaab Al Mulla, Aramco's vice president of market analysis and sustainability, underlined the need for the recognition of the role refined products play in resilient energy systems, which has been brought into sharp focus in the current crisis

Al Mulla highlighted the need for a realistic approach to the role of oil and gas as the engine for economic growth and the impact of the crisis on products ranging from helium to materials and fertilisers, with shortages of the latter in turn impacting food supply.

A common theme of the event was the need for resilience and redundancy in the energy system to be able to weather such crises. Al Mulla highlighted Aramco’s focus on long-term strategic planning and investment for the future, as exemplified by its investment in the east-west pipeline which is now not only transporting crude but also products, building flexibility into the system, transporting crude to refineries for export and ensuring refined products get to market.

“The world has realised the need for more investment in pipeline infrastructure and domestic refining to ensure industry is working together,” he said.

He remarked that the crisis has demonstrated demand is resilient and has exposed the underinvestment in refineries, with capital flows being redirected towards the energy transition and resulting in a deficit of 3mn bpd.

“We need to build refineries and infrastructure while also reducing emissions,” he said, noting that Aramco has one of the lowest emissions intensities.

Discussing demand for refined products, he noted that demand for jet fuel continues to grow and refinery utilisation is at record rates.

“We believe demand will continue to be resilient, and low carbon products will be important as well,” he said.

He foresaw strong growth in chemicals with the market for durable materials growing in multiple sectors, noting that carbon-based materials can help reduce emissions. Replacing steel with polypropylene in cars can reduce emissions by 80%, for example. He also highlighted growth in demand for low carbon aviation fuel (lcaf), fossil-based jet fuel, which is 10% lower in emissions than conventional jet fuel, and complements sustainable aviation fuel (saf) as it addresses some of its limitations.

Highlighting the continuing long-term strategic importance of refining, he stressed that gasolene will still account for a significant proportion of transportation fuel by 2050.

With resilience, reliability and sustainability being global challenges, Al Mulla said that resilience for Aramco means building on operational excellence, long-term investment in oil and gas, new energies and low carbon, and localisation, noting Aramco’s 70% localisation target to ensure a resilient supply chain.

“Resilience is correlated with sustainability, you can’t be sustainable if you are not resilient,” he said. It involves not only having the flexibility to be able to adapt to shocks, but also having the capacity to innovate and grow supply while also reducing emissions, he added.

Commenting on the Middle East’s attractiveness as an investment destination, he said, “Clearly the region remains the hub for oil and gas petrochemicals and refining, and it has shown its infrastructure and energy system have been resilient in this historic crisis.”

He said Aramco is also looking at other regions, and urged the need for more investor-friendly policies in Europe, where there is a need for more domestic refining and chemicals so as not to be dependent on other regions.

Discussing the role of gas, Al Mulla said there will be increasing demand to fulfil the growing demand for power from data centres, highlighting the move towards regional data centres.

Othman Soliman, founder, SC DrillTech, explains why treating solids control as an integrated processing system rather than as a collection of individual equipment can lead to meaningful gains in drilling performance, cost control and operational efficiency

In drilling operations worldwide, solids control remains one of the most critical yet frequently misunderstood elements of well construction. For decades, operators and contractors have evaluated solids control performance through the narrow lens of individual equipment: shaker screen API ratings, hydrocyclone separation cut points, or centrifuge bowl speed. While these metrics are not without value, they reveal only fragments of a much larger picture. The reality is that solids control must be measured, managed, and optimised as an integrated system — not as a collection of standalone machines.

The pitfalls of siloed metrics

When a rigsite team focuses solely on individual equipment performance, the results can be deceptively reassuring. A shale shaker may be running at its rated capacity, hydrocyclones may be delivering the expected underflow density, and the centrifuge may be operating within manufacturer specifications — yet the drilling fluid remains laden with fine solids, dilution rates are climbing, and non-productive time (NPT) is increasing.

This paradox occurs because each piece of solids control equipment is designed to remove a specific particle size range within a continuous processing chain. Shakers address the coarse fraction, hydrocyclones (desanders and desilters) target the medium range, and centrifuges handle the fine and ultra-fine solids. If any stage is misaligned — whether through improper feed distribution, incompatible screen selection, or fluid rheology that overwhelms downstream units — the entire system fails to deliver its collective potential.

The system approach: fluid volume, solids loading and retention time

A system-based evaluation begins with three fundamental parameters:
• fluid volume processed
• solids loading at each stage, and
• retention time across the surface system.

First, the total circulating volume must pass through the solids control equipment in a manner that matches each unit's design capacity. Overloading the shaker with high flow rates forces fine solids past the screens and into the active system, increasing the burden on hydrocyclones and centrifuges that were never intended to handle such volumes. Conversely, underutilisation of equipment leads to poor agitation and settling, creating dead zones where solids accumulate.

Second, solids loading must be tracked progressively. The mass of solids removed by the shaker directly influences the efficiency of the hydrocyclone bank. If the shaker is not removing coarse solids effectively, hydrocyclone nozzles plug prematurely, cone pressure drops, and separation efficiency collapses. Similarly, if hydrocyclones fail to remove medium solids, the centrifuge is forced to process a higher concentration of solids than its design allows, increasing wear and reducing fluid recovery.

Third, retention time across the surface system determines whether solids have sufficient opportunity to be removed before re-entering the wellbore. A system with inadequate surface volume, poor compartment agitation, or bypassed equipment will recirculate drilled solids regardless of how well individual units perform in isolation.

Impact on drilling performance and cost

Measuring solids control as a system directly affects two of the most closely watched metrics in drilling economics:
• rate of penetration (ROP) and
• dilution cost.

Excessive fine solids in the drilling fluid increase plastic viscosity and yield point, creating a thicker fluid column that reduces hydraulic efficiency at the bit. The result is lower ROP, higher equivalent circulating density (ECD), and an elevated risk of lost circulation or wellbore instability — particularly in the narrow margin windows common to deepwater, high-pressure high-temperature (HPHT), and unconventional formations globally.

From a cost perspective, every barrel of fluid diluted to control solids concentration represents a direct expense. When the solids control system operates as a cohesive unit, the volume of dilution required drops significantly. Field data from operations across multiple continents has consistently shown that improving overall system efficiency — rather than upgrading a single piece of equipment — yields the greatest reduction in dilution volumes and associated disposal costs.

Practical implementation on the rig

Transitioning to a system-based approach does not require capital-intensive overhauls. It begins with baseline measurements: capture the mass and particle size distribution of solids removed at each stage, compare it to the theoretical solids generated by the bit, and identify gaps.

Next, ensure that equipment is sequenced and sized correctly for the anticipated solids profile. A high-rate well in unconsolidated sands requires a different shaker screen and hydrocyclone configuration than a directional well in hard limestone. Fluid rheology must be managed to support — not hinder — mechanical separation.

Finally, establish clear accountability across the rigsite team so that solids control is treated as a shared objective rather than the sole responsibility of the mud engineer or solids control technician.

For operators and drilling engineers looking to stay ahead of evolving solids control practices, further technical resources and insights into system optimisation are available at SC DrillTech (https://scdrilltech.com), where continuous field-based research on solids control development is published to support industry advancement.

Conclusion

The complexity of modern drilling environments worldwide demands a shift in how solids control performance is judged. Individual equipment metrics will always have their place, but they cannot tell the full story. Only by evaluating shakers, hydrocyclones, centrifuges, and drilling fluids as a single, interdependent processing system can operators unlock meaningful gains in drilling performance, cost control, and operational efficiency. The question is no longer whether each machine is working — it is whether the system as a whole is winning.

Othman Soliman is the founder of SC DrillTech, an independent technical platform dedicated to Solids Control and Drilling Waste Management, with over 25 years of international field experience.

Oil Review Middle East, in association with Flyability is hosting a webinar on “NDT drones for the oil and gas industry: from innovation to implementation" on Tuesday 14 July at 2pm GST

The oil and gas industry continues to face increasing pressure to improve safety, reduce operational downtime and enhance inspection efficiency. Increasingly, operators are deploying drone technology to improve inspection quality, enhance safety and drive greater operational efficiency across oil and gas assets, discovering new ways to conduct inspections in hazardous and confined spaces while minimising risks to personnel.

This practical session will explore how drone technology is being used to perform remote NDT inspections, collect critical asset data and create digital twins that support more effective asset integrity management. Through real-world case studies and industry experience, attendees will gain valuable insights into implementing drone solutions within their own operations.

Register here

Key highlights

• Visual inspections: Learn how drone technology is improving access to difficult and hazardous inspection environments
• Remote NDT applications: Explore the use of UT spot measurements and other remote inspection capabilities
• Digital twins: Understand how digital asset models are supporting integrity monitoring and maintenance planning
• Industry success stories: Hear practical examples from asset owners and service providers successfully utilising drone technology
• Implementation strategies: Gain insights into integrating drone-based inspections into existing operational workflows.

Our expert speakers:

• Fabio Fata, senior sales manager, Flyability
• Senan Khatib, certified AUV pilot/instructor and UAV field specialist Sagerdrone
• Abdullah Al-Rahmah, head of UAV team, Saudi Aramco
• Jacob Swidy, head of inspection technology and digital transformation, Saudi Aramco

Don’t miss this opportunity to take away exclusive insights from the leading lights of the drone technology world!
Register here

The conflict in the Middle East has disrupted global production and trade in hydrogen-based products such as fertilisers, fuels and industrial feedstocks, exposing vulnerabilities in supply chains, according to the latest edition of the IEA’s Global Hydrogen Review

The report finds that the crisis and the increased focus on energy security are renewing interest in hydrogen and hydrogen-based fuels, although low-emissions hydrogen remains at a relatively small scale.

Demand for hydrogen worldwide surpassed 100 million tonnes in 2025, according to the report, while production of low-emissions hydrogen grew by 20% to almost 1 million tonnes. However, persistent barriers including high costs, uncertain demand, complex regulations and a lack of infrastructure continue to slow the development of low-emissions hydrogen, putting 2030 targets announced by governments increasingly out of reach.

"The current crisis has highlighted how deeply economies around the world depend on trade in hydrogen-based products and the significant role of the Middle East in those supply chains," said IEA executive director Fatih Birol. "Countries are looking for ways to make their energy systems more resilient and diversified. Low-emissions hydrogen can play an important role in those efforts over time, but stronger policy support and much faster deployment will be needed before it can make a meaningful contribution at scale."

Fertiliser markets have been particularly affected by the conflict in the Middle East, which is home to around one-sixth of global hydrogen production, the majority dedicated to the production of chemicals, fertilisers and refined oil products. The region accounts for more than 10% of global refining capacity, ammonia and urea production, and close to 17% of methanol production.

The region makes up over one-quarter of global trade in ammonia, almost 40% of urea trade and almost 45% of methanol trade, and one-third of its refining capacity is export-oriented. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has severely disrupted the supply of all these products. The production of hydrogen-based fuels outside the Middle East has also been affected, particularly in Asia, where countries are very dependent on natural gas imports from the Middle East.

Disruptions to production, exports and shipping routes have contributed to shortages and price volatility across global markets with the increase in fertiliser costs posing risks for food supply chains, especially in import-dependent agricultural economies.

Low-emissions hydrogen

Low-emissions hydrogen production grew by 20% in 2025 to reach almost 1 Mt and is set to exceed 1% of global hydrogen production for the first time, but progress is concentrated in a small number of projects. However investment momentum weakened in 2025, with delays to final investment decisions and a shrinking pipeline of projects highlighting the challenges facing the sector.

Despite continued policy support in some markets, low-emissions hydrogen and hydrogen-based products remain significantly more expensive than conventional alternatives in most markets. The pipeline of announced projects for producing low-emissions hydrogen by 2030 has shrunk by around a quarter since last year to 27 million tonnes due to delays and cancellations, and the number of projects likely to become operational by 2030 has fallen significantly.

Demand uncertainty remains a key constraint for scaling up low-emissions hydrogen development, with offtake agreements at low level. This is cited by developers as one of the largest barriers to investment.