Operations at four oil and gas fields in Kirkuk have been transferred from the North Oil Company and North Gas Company to a newly established joint authority responsible for managing the fields.
The transfer includes the Kirkuk, Bai Hassan, Khabbaz and Jambur fields.
The handover ceremony took place on Thursday and was monitored by Oil Minister Basim Muhammad Khudhair al-Abadi through a video link. BP is the strategic partner in the project.
According to the Ministry of Oil, the project aims to increase oil production to 450,000 barrels per day and utilize 500 million standard cubic feet of gas per day.
The minister said the ministry would provide full support to BP to help achieve these targets. He added that the project would also focus on training local staff, transferring technology and expertise, and improving community services and local infrastructure.
