Iraq signs Halliburton field deal, advances Chevron export pipeline studies

A five-year contract with Halliburton targets 250,000 bpd from two Basra fields, while a Chevron-linked consortium wins approval to study Turkey and Syria export pipeline routes.

Oil Minister Bassim Mohammed Khudair (center) presides over a signing ceremony of contracts for Halliburton to help develop the Nahr Bin Omar and Sindibad oil fields on July 5, 2026. (Photo credit: Oil Ministry)

Energy

Stopgap deal aims to avert northern export shutdown

Baghdad and Ankara are pursuing a temporary deal to keep Iraq's only secondary oil export route operating past the July 27 expiration of the Iraq-Turkey Pipeline treaty.

Politics

Maarij arrested in widening corruption crackdown

A second deputy oil minister has been ensnared in an expanding operation that has also taken down several MPs, with potential to reshape Iraq's political power balance.

Security

As Iraq tries to rein in paramilitary groups, oil sector threats remain

Several armed groups say they will put their weapons under state control, but the most aggressive Iran-backed fighters remain outside the process.

Interviews

Q&A: Bassim Mohammed Khudair, Deputy Oil Minister for Upstream

Iraq's top upstream oil official confirms that production, curtailed by war, is ready to surge back online — but only once ships can reliably resume Basra Gulf export loadings.