US seizes russian oil Concession in Iraq.

[syed putra]

Chevron moves closer to taking operatorship of giant Iraq oilfield​

Baghdad agrees to release sensitive proprietary information on West Qurna 2 to US supermajor

Iraq's Minister of Oil Bassim Mohammed Khudair.Photo: IRAQ MINISTRY OF OIL

• Vladimir Afanasiev

• European Correspondent

Field Development


Published 1 July 2026, 20:16


US supermajor Chevron is moving to the next stage in the process to take over operatorship of one of Iraq's largest oilfields, West Qurna 2.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Iraq's Ministry of Oil said the field’s current operator, state owned Basra Oil Company (BOC), has signed a confidentiality and non-disclosure agreement with Chevron, providing the supermajor with access to critical information to help it evaluate West Qurna 2.

BOC has been temporarily managing West Qurna 2 since last year after Russia's Lukoil was unable to continue operating the asset following the imposition of broad US sanctions on the company and its foreign subsidiaries.