Basra Energy starts amid output push

The JV assumes the role of Rumaila’s main contractor as a new production target is set

The Iraqi government inaugurated the Basra Energy Company joint venture (JV) in late November, heralding a new era in the development of the country’s key Rumaila oilfield. Ostensibly, with BP and Petrochina remaining in situ as the two international partners on the asset, little has changed. However, with a revised plateau production target now in place and the IOCs doubling down on long-term commitments to increase output, the outlook for the Iraqi upstream continues to brighten. Basra Energy will take the place of the Rumaila Operating Organization as the main contractor, a move borne of efforts by BP to spin off its Iraqi operations into a new entity and part of a wider effort to reduce