Iraq’s New Oil Minister Backs US Investment

22 May 2026 Issue: 69 / 21 By: Yesar Al-Maleki

Iraq’s new oil minister has invited US firms to play a larger role in the country’s oil sector, signaling policy continuity with his predecessor. Good news for Chevron and ExxonMobil, which were closing in on high profile deals with the previous administration. Baghdad sees political value in closing the deals as Washington increases scrutiny over its oil sector's links to Iran.

Iraq’s new government plans to restart commercial talks with ExxonMobil and Chevron next month regarding high profile upstream investments. Talks are slated to resume after the Eid holidays that end on 30 May. Continued interest from the two US majors will be seen as a welcome vote of confidence in Iraq’s upstream sector, which has been battered by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz since early March. The lack of export options has meant widespread upstream shutdowns, with Iraqi production dropping by 2.76mn b/d between February and April.

The previous government late last year signed preliminary agreements with Exxon for development of the 450,000 b/d-capacity Majnoon field (MEES, 10 October 2025) and with Chevron for the 480,000 b/d West Qurna-2 field (MEES, 12 December 2025). These are two of Iraq’s largest fields, and if the contractual terms are accepted, they could become prized assets for the two companies. (CONTINUED - 1550 WORDS)