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In a further boost for Iraq's oil and gas development 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.

Dr. Manar Al Moneef, scientist, capital architect and chief investment officer of NEOM shares learnings from twenty years of infrastructure investment in the Gulf

There is a common misconception about what makes large-scale infrastructure successful. Many assume success is determined when a project is announced, the business case is approved, or the financing is secured. In reality, the true test comes much later.

Every transformational project reaches moments when assumptions evolve, technologies advance, markets shift, and geopolitical realities change. The question is never whether circumstances will change — they always do. The question is whether the institution behind the project has the capability, discipline, and conviction to adapt while remaining committed to its long-term objective.

After more than twenty years working across infrastructure, energy, healthcare, investment, and economic development, I have come to believe that the greatest determinant of success is not the original forecast, the technology, or even the market opportunity. It is the strength of the institution behind the capital.

Projects that create lasting economic value rarely unfold exactly as planned. They succeed because they are supported by institutions capable of learning, adjusting, and continuing to execute without losing sight of their strategic destination.

That distinction matters because the Gulf’s development story is often misunderstood.

The region’s greatest achievement is not that it has launched ambitious projects. Many countries can do that. Its real achievement is building institutions capable of sustaining long-term ambition through economic cycles, technological transformation, and periods of global uncertainty.

The institutions behind long-term success

Much of the discussion around sovereign investment focuses on scale. While the Gulf’s sovereign institutions collectively manage trillions of dollars, scale alone does not explain the region’s ability to deliver transformational infrastructure. What differentiates successful institutions is their ability to think beyond market cycles while continuously creating long-term value. In my experience, three characteristics consistently distinguish institutions that endure:

Strategic clarity. Successful institutions maintain a clear long-term direction while remaining flexible in execution. Markets evolve, technologies improve, and priorities shift, but adapting the route does not require abandoning the destination.

Adaptive execution. Every major project evolves. New information emerges, better solutions become available, and economic conditions change. Strong institutions embrace these changes, improving execution without compromising strategic intent. Adaptability is not a departure from strategy—it is often what allows strategy to succeed.

Institutional commitment. Perhaps the most distinctive characteristic is the ability to sustain commitment over decades. Projects evolve, plans are refined, and priorities are reassessed, but the broader objective remains clear. That continuity enables infrastructure, industries, and capabilities whose value can only be realised over generations.
Together, these characteristics transform ambition into sustained execution.

Three examples of long-term execution

Across the Gulf, there are many examples of institutions demonstrating these principles.

Qatar’s North Field expansion provides a compelling example. The project required significant capital, long-term planning, and confidence in the future role of natural gas in global energy markets. More importantly, it required institutions willing to make decisions based on decades rather than quarterly performance.

Saudi Arabia’s electricity infrastructure is one of the strongest. Over several decades, the Kingdom has consistently invested in generation, transmission, and grid reliability to support industrialisation, urbanisation, and economic diversification. As demand increased and technologies advanced, the system continued to evolve. Today, it stands among the region’s most sophisticated power networks, providing the foundation for future economic growth.

The UAE’s Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant reflects the same institutional discipline. Building a nuclear programme required decades of planning, rigorous governance, technical excellence, and sustained commitment. Beyond generating electricity, Barakah demonstrates what institutions can achieve when they remain focused on a strategic objective while successfully managing complexity and risk.

Different countries. Different sectors. Different technologies. Yet they share the same underlying principle: long-term vision supported by institutions capable of sustained execution.
Vision creates direction. Institutions transform that direction into outcomes.

What this moment is teaching us

The world is navigating one of the most complex periods in recent history. Economic uncertainty, geopolitical tensions, technological disruption, demographic change, and rapidly evolving industries are reshaping the global economy.

In this environment, resilience has become one of the most valuable institutional capabilities. Not resilience as resistance to change. Resilience as the ability to adapt while maintaining direction.

The institutions that will define the next generation of economic growth are not those that attempt to predict every outcome perfectly. They are those capable of remaining disciplined in purpose, flexible in execution, and committed to creating long-term value despite uncertainty.

That is the lesson I have observed throughout my career.

Markets will change. Technologies will evolve. Assumptions will be challenged. The future will rarely unfold exactly as expected. But institutions built on strong governance, strategic clarity, and the ability to adapt without losing focus will continue to create value long after individual market cycles have passed.

Ultimately, the question is not whether projects will encounter challenges. Every meaningful project does. The question is whether the institution behind it has been designed to adapt, endure, and continue building through change.

Because that is how transformative infrastructure is delivered. That is how economies strengthen their foundations. And that is how nations turn long-term ambition into lasting prosperity.

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.

TGS, a leading global provider of energy data and intelligence, has announced the launch of Gemini X, Gemini X combines TGS' industry-leading Gemini source technology with Apparition, TGS' proprietary encoded acquisition and source separation capability, enabling coordinated multi-source acquisition

Gemini X delivers a step change in operational efficiency, sharper subsurface imaging and faster turnaround, facilitating more confident exploration decisions. By strengthening data quality at the point of acquisition, it improves performance across the entire value chain, from acquisition and advanced imaging workflows such as full-waveform inversion (FWI) in complex subsalt and frontier basins, through to the drill decisions that follow. Following successful testing in the Gulf of America, Gemini X is now available worldwide.

Gemini X helps redefine exploration, especially in ocean-bottom node (OBN) operations, combining fit-for-purpose acquisition with the imaging technology needed to solve complex geology. The result is imaging quality once reserved for high-value production surveys, now practical and affordable at basin exploration scale.

At the core of Gemini X are TGS’ Gemini enhanced frequency source (EFS) and TGS' proprietary encoded-acquisition and source-separation technology, which enable multiple Gemini sources to operate simultaneously while preserving broadband signal fidelity and the extended low frequencies critical for high-end imaging.

Carel Hooijkaas, executive vice president of Marine Data Acquisition, TGS, stated, "For years, ocean-bottom nodes have been seen as a tool for mature fields and production monitoring. Gemini X resets that thinking. By running multiple Gemini sources in parallel, we acquire cleaner, higher-quality data far more efficiently, bringing the imaging power of OBN to basin-scale exploration. This lets our clients skip a generation of seismic acquisition technology while benefiting from sharper images, faster turnaround, and the confidence to make key exploration decisions sooner."

TGS is also teaming up with Chevron in a strategic collaboration focused on advancing next-generation seismic imaging technology. Under the agreement, the two companies will jointly invest in research and development across key technical domains, including Elastic Full Waveform Inversion (eFWI) and machine learning-driven workflows, leveraging TGS' Imaging AnyWare platform and Chevron's proprietary algorithms.

"This collaboration reflects TGS' ambition to evolve into a true strategic imaging partner and to push the boundaries of what is possible in subsurface imaging," said Kristian Johansen, CEO of TGS. "Combining our platform, talent and scale with Chevron's world-class geoscience expertise creates meaningful long-term value for both organisations."

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

Abu Dhabi is forging ahead with hydrogen development and is emerging as one of the world’s leading global hydrogen hubs, according to a new report from the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ADCCI)

The report, entitled Abu Dhabi's Positioning in the Hydrogen Economy, highlights that Abu Dhabi is moving from ambition to concrete project execution through investment in production, infrastructure, manufacturing, logistics and export-oriented value chains, even as progress slows in other markets due to the reassessment of hydrogen ambitions and policy uncertainty.

Competitive advantage

The report finds that the UAE benefits from a unique combination of structural advantages, including:
• abundant solar resources
• efficient electricity infrastructure
• strong industrial capabilities
• low cost of capital, and
• strong project delivery capability.

These factors combine to make Abu Dhabi among the most competitive global hydrogen hubs globally, with the levelised costs of hydrogen and ammonia set to be one of the lowest in the world by 2030, strengthening its position as a key exporter to early demand centres such as the European Union, Japan and South Korea. 

Abu Dhabi has set a 2031 production target of 1.4 Mt/year of low-carbon hydrogen. This is in line with the UAE’s hydrogen strategy, which aims to enhance the UAE’s position as one of the largest producers of hydrogen by that year and envisages the low-carbon fuel as a crucial tool in meeting the country’s net-zero commitments and reducing emissions in hard-to-abate sectors.

Shift to high-value hydrogen derivatives

The report highlights a global strategic shift away from just exporting pure hydrogen toward higher-value derivatives such as green ammonia, methanol, synthetic fuels, and Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF).

Abu Dhabi is pursuing a number of initiatives in these areas such as
• Development of methanol and SAF projects using green hydrogen and captured CO₂
• Exploration of e-methane production and bunkering infrastructure
• Expansion into green ammonia and synthetic fuels.

These initiatives could result in exports worth millions of dirhams, as well as creating new jobs and contributing to emissions reduction, creating new opportunities across manufacturing, trade, logistics and industrial production.

Offtake agreements critical

The report stresses that long-term offtake agreements are critical to accelerate investment and scale the hydrogen economy. As a recent IEA report notes, demand uncertainty remains a key constraint for scaling up low-emissions hydrogen development, and is cited by developers as one of the largest barriers to investment. Despite strong global momentum, the report notes that only around 12% of low-carbon hydrogen projects have secured confirmed customers.

Addressing these considerations, Abu Dhabi is demonstrating a viable delivery model through customer-aligned projects and partnerships:
• The EMSTEEL–Masdar green steel pilot (MENA’s first hydrogen-based steel project) is already operational
• Offtake agreements have been signed with Modon and Aldar to supply green steel to sustainable construction projects.

Equipment and technology offer opportunities

As well as production and derivatives, the report identifies opportunities in exporting hydrogen-related technologies and equipment to global projects, such as electrolysers, port infrastructure components and blending projects. Abu Dhabi's industrial zones — including KEZAD— and logistics infrastructure at Khalifa Port position the emirate as a manufacturing and re-export hub to markets such as China, Germany, the United Kingdom, the USA, and Australia. In a regional first, ADNOC, John Cockerill Hydrogen, and Strata Manufacturing signed an agreement in 2023 to produce electrolysers in the UAE for domestic use and export. Other similar arrangements will surely follow.