By: OrePulse

Iraq's Ministry of Oil said on November 3 that talks with Chevron Corporation have produced an agreement in principle on a contract to redevelop the West Qurna 2 oil field, with the two sides working to finalize contract language and planning to sign before the end of 2026.

Oil Minister Basim Mohammed Khudair al-Abadi said the two sides had agreed on the contract framework and that the ministry would speed up negotiations on the final contract text, according to a ministry statement.

West Qurna 2 lies about 65 kilometers northwest of the southern city of Basra and holds estimated recoverable reserves of roughly 14 billion barrels of oil, one of the largest deposits among Iraq's southern oil fields. The field was developed for more than a decade by Russia's Lukoil, whose role in the project ended after U.S. sanctions affected the company's operations in Iraq, opening the way for the ministry's talks with Chevron.

The field currently produces between 460,000 and 480,000 barrels of oil per day, equivalent to roughly 10% of Iraq's total output. Earlier development plans for West Qurna 2 had targeted production of up to 800,000 barrels per day, a level the field has not yet reached.

Discussions between Iraq and Chevron over West Qurna 2 began at the start of 2026. The two sides signed a preliminary agreement on February 23 and followed it in July with a confidentiality agreement covering technical and commercial data, ahead of this week's statement that broader contract terms have now been agreed in principle.

The oil ministry said it would continue to support Chevron, ExxonMobil and other U.S. companies operating in Iraq, and that it would work to remove obstacles facing their investments in the country's oil sector.

Talks are continuing separately on Iraq's Nasiriyah oil field and on four exploration blocks, the ministry said, as part of a wider push to bring in foreign investment following the change in operatorship at West Qurna 2.

If completed, the agreement would mark one of the largest transfers of an Iraqi oil asset to a U.S. company in recent years, given the field's scale and Lukoil's roughly decade-long history at the site before operatorship changed hands.

No date has yet been set for when a final, signed contract for West Qurna 2 will be completed.