Iraq said Wednesday it would proceed with work alongside British energy giant BP plc (BP) on a controversial northern oilfield, in a move likely to spark anger in the country's Kurdish region.
Iraq
said
Wednesday it would proceed with work alongside British energy giant BP plc (BP)
on a controversial northern oilfield, in a move likely to spark anger in the
country's Kurdish region.
The development of the
Kirkuk
oilfield, which lies amid a swathe of disputed territory in north
Iraq
, is
at the heart of a row over land, oil revenues and the powers of the central
government. The dispute has been raging for years between
Baghdad
and
the autonomous
Kurdistan
region.
Iraqi Oil Minister Abdelkarim al-Luaybi,
Kirkuk
provincial Governor Najm al-Din Omar Karim and BP Chief Executive Bob Dudley
visited the field after holding talks in the province's capital.
"The contract with the British company will be executed by treating the
decline in oil production at
Kirkuk
oilfield, which has reached 230,000 barrels (per day), and the company will
work on surveying the fields and sites of
Kirkuk
oilfield throughout the contract period," Mr. Luaybi told AFP.
Current output represents a significant drop off from the field's peak, and
Iraqi officials hope to increase production to 500,000 barrels a day in three
years.
The visit was the first since the British energy giant and Iraq signed a deal
in September which calls for BP to carry out surveys at the oilfield, but which
could eventually lead to the company working to increase the field's output.
Developing the field is part of Iraqi efforts to boost oil output to fund
much-needed reconstruction.
At the time the contract was announced, the
Kurdistan
region condemned the deal. A spokesman for the region's natural resources
ministry didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
The dispute over oil is one of several between the central government and
Kurdish authorities, who want to incorporate a swathe of land into their
autonomous region over the central government's objections.
The federal and regional governments also disagree over the apportioning of oil
revenues, and
Baghdad
has
been angered by the Kurdish region signing contracts with foreign energy firms
without its approval.
Diplomats and officials say the dispute over territory in particular is one of
the main long-term threats to
Iraq
's
stability.
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