The Iraqi government has given its approval for the Iraqi National Oil Company to acquire Exxon Mobil Corp’s stake in the giant West Qurna 1 oilfield, Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar said on Wednesday.

The Iraqi government has given its approval for the Iraqi National Oil Company to acquire Exxon Mobil Corp’s XOM.N stake in the giant West Qurna 1 oilfield, Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar said on Wednesday.

West Qurna 1, in southern Iraq, is one of the world’s largest oilfields with recoverable reserves estimated at more than 20 billion barrels.

It had a production capacity close to 500,000 barrels per day in 2021, according to Iraqi officials.

State-run Basra Oil Company director Khalid Hamza told Reuters last year that Exxon was seeking to sell its 32.7% stake in the field for $350 million.

Foreign interest in developing fields in southern Iraq has fallen as Iraq along with other top producers curbs output to support prices and as a result of tension between the United States and Iran, which has close ties to Iraqi Shi’ite militias.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Ahmed Rasheed; writing by Maher Chmaytelli; editing by Jason Neely)