Iraq signs $200 billion energy deals with US firms

Iraq has signed energy agreements worth around $200 billion with U.S. companies during a recent visit by Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi to Washington, significantly expanding cooperation in the country’s oil sector, officials said.

The deals, reported by Iraqi News Agency citing Oil Minister Bassem Mohammed Khudair, include seven major agreements covering oil field development and management.

Among them is a contract with HKN Energy to develop the Himreen oil field, alongside agreements with Chevron Corporation to operate the West Qurna-2 project and develop the Nasiriyah and Balad fields. Iraq also signed a deal with Halliburton for integrated management of the Bin Umar and Sindbad oil fields.

Khudair noted that 22 international companies are currently active in Iraq’s oil sector, including BP, which operates the Rumaila oil field — one of the country’s largest.

The minister said Baghdad is also engaged in discussions with OPEC to increase its production quota. “The government remains committed to securing the share of exports that Iraq deserves, taking into account the exceptional circumstances the state has endured as a result of wars and the destruction of its infrastructure,” he said, adding that Iraq’s production capacity has already exceeded 4.8 million barrels per day.

Separately, Iraq is negotiating with Türkiye to revive an agreement governing crude exports via a pipeline to the port of Ceyhan. Officials also confirmed a new agreement with Syria to construct a pipeline linking the city of Haditha to the Mediterranean port of Baniyas.

The planned infrastructure is expected to diversify Iraq’s export routes following disruptions linked to tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, a key chokepoint for global oil shipments.

By Tamilla Hasanova