The Iraqi government signed on Tuesday an agreement with the British Petroleum/BP company to rehabilitate and develop the four Kirkuk fields, under the auspices and presence of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani.
The Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement received by Shafaq News Agency that “this signing comes after the agreement with the company concerned on technical issues and contractual conditions, including the economic model of the project, based on the memorandums of understanding signed in London during the last visit of the Sudanese to Britain, which aimed to ensure the best contractual conditions and benefits for the Iraqi side, after prolonged detailed negotiations with the Ministry of Oil, according to the directive of its sovereignty, in order to optimal investment in energy and provide crude oil to the north and reduce its dependence on southern oil, and the agreement is the last stage before signing the contract finally.”
The statement pointed out that “this project will provide the absorption of manpower in various specialties, the operation of local companies, the implementation of social benefits projects, and the development of engineering and technical resources skills, support the staff of the North Oil Company and the North Gas Company, within the government’s vision for training programs and raising the level of competencies within the framework of what is provided by British Petroleum,
in coordination with the Ministry of Oil.”The statement added that “the agreement includes the development of the four main fields of Kirkuk (Bay Hassan, Kirkuk with its domes “Baba and Avana”, Jumbour, and Baker), to ensure the investment of associated gas as well as the rehabilitation and expansion of gas facilities in the North Gas Company and the establishment of a power plant with a capacity of 400 megawatts to achieve the desired objectives of this integrated strategic project.”