NOC boosts output by 50,000 bpd, inks deal with BP

Shafaq News – Kirkuk / Nineveh

Iraq’s North Oil Company (NOC) has increased its crude oil production by 50,000 barrels per day, bringing total output to 375,000 bpd compared with 325,000 bpd previously, a company source said on Friday.

The source told Shafaq News the rise followed maintenance and development works carried out by technical and engineering teams, covering the Jambur, Baba Karkar, Khabbaz, and Bai Hassan fields, along with well rehabilitation at the Batma field under the Nineveh Oil Fields Authority.

According to an official company statement, the Batma well rehabilitation aligns with the government’s program to boost output. Field operations included installing a variable-speed electric submersible pump (ESP) in Batma-6, yielding an initial 750 bpd, before moving it to Batma-11 for testing. Similar work is planned for Batma-9 in the coming days.

Oil expert Ihsan al-Ali told Shafaq News the Oil Ministry has recently signed a technical and advisory agreement with Britain’s BP to develop North Oil Company fields. BP will provide advanced geological and technical studies using the latest seismic and digital analysis, alongside long-term investment plans aiming to raise output beyond 400,000 bpd within three years.

Al-Ali said the production increase, coupled with BP’s involvement, will boost Iraq’s revenues and support the national budget, while also balancing output between the country’s northern and southern fields, adding that this will strengthen Baghdad’s position in talks with the Kurdistan Region over oil exports, particularly with shipments from the Region expected to resume after more than a year’s halt.