Iraq tasks BP with raising output at four Kirkuk oil fields to more than 450,000 barrels a day

Iraq on Thursday, August 6, 2026 (15 Mordad 1405) tasked BP with raising production at four oil fields in Kirkuk province, namely Bai Hassan, Jambur, Khabbaz, and the Kirkuk field's Avana and Baba formations, according to Shafaq News citing the Iraqi Oil Ministry. Under the plan, output at the fields will rise from about 328,000 barrels per day, the level recorded when Iraq began implementing the BP contract in October 2025, to more than 450,000 barrels per day, while associated gas production expands to around 12.5 million cubic meters a day. BP Iraq General Manager Zaid Al-Yasiri pledged to Patriotic Union of Kurdistan lawmakers in Iraq's parliament that hiring for the project would prioritize Kirkuk residents, after Kirkuk's Oil and Gas Syndicate demanded on July 26 that residents receive at least 85 percent of project jobs. BP resumed work on June 29 with the return of its technical and engineering teams after suspending most foreign operations during regional security tensions.