In December Oil Minister Jabbar al-Luaibi called on North Oil Company to “restore its glory” by ramping up output from its current 148,000 b/d to 1.5mn b/d. But putative partner BP is lukewarm on Kirkuk and the return of Angola’s Sonangol to Iraq is unlikely to provide much of a boost.

The Angolan state firm on 2 February officially agreed to return to northern Iraq where it has a 75% operating stake (NOC 25%) at the Qayara and Najma fields (see map). Current output is negligible. but at its peak Qayara produced 20,000 b/d (MEES, 27 January 2017). (CONTINUED - 864 WORDS)