BP and China’s CNPC have signed a revised contract for Iraq’s Rumaila oilfield to increase their stakes in the joint venture with state-owned firm to develop the field
The original contract had BP holding a 38 per cent stake in the Rumaila venture, while CNPC had a 37 per cent share and Iraq’s state oil marketing organisation controlled the remaining 25 per cent.
According to the new deal, BP’s share has risen to 47.6 per cent and CNPC’s to 46.4 per cent, while Iraq’s stake has been reduced to six per cent, according to Thamer Ghadhban, energy adviser to Iraq’s Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
BP also plans to decrease output target for the field to 2.1mn bpd from 2.85mn bpd, the company said.
The foreign oil companies working in Iraq include BP at Rumaila, ExxonMobil at West Qurna 1, Royal Dutch Shell at Majnoon, and Lukoil operating West Qurna 2.
The Rumaila oilfield has estimated reserves of 17bn barrels, according to official sources. It currently produces around 1.3mn to 1.4mn bpd, almost half of Iraq’s output of around 3.2mn bpd.
