Iraq signs deals with two US oil companies to raise output

Iraq has signed agreements with two US energy companies to raise oil and gas production.

The state-owned North Oil Company and US company HKN Energy inked a contract on Thursday to develop the Hamrin field in northern Iraq.

The deal aims to increase production to 140,000 barrels per day of oil and 40 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) of gas from the field, the Iraq News Agency reported, quoting an oil ministry statement.

Oil minister Bassem Al-Abadi said the contract will draw more US and European companies to invest in Iraq’s energy sector.

Earlier this week, Basra Oil Company signed a deal with US energy services firm Halliburton to manage the Bin Omar and Sinbad oilfields in the country’s south.

• Qatar-US consortium set to sign deal to build Iraq oil pipelines
• Iraq acts to renew Turkish pipeline deal before July deadline
• Iraq begins work on reaching pre-war oil output

Output at Sinbad is expected to increase by 80,000 to 100,000 bpd, while associated gas capacity will rise from 240 to 260 mmscfd, the minister added.

Iraq, Opec’s second-largest oil producer, is already exporting more than 200,000 bpd via the northern Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline.

In April, the country’s cabinet approved $1.5 billion for a $5 billion project to construct a pipeline from Basra to Haditha.