North Oil signs US firm HKN to develop Hamrin oil field

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s North Oil Company signed a contract Thursday with U.S.-based HKN Energy to develop the Hamrin oil field, with the Oil Ministry saying the project aims to raise peak production to 140,000 barrels per day while capturing associated gas for energy use instead of flaring it.

Oil Minister Bassem Mohammed Khudhair al-Abadi, who attended the signing, said the agreement aligns with the government’s strategy to maximize investment in oil and gas resources to meet domestic demand and increase exports.

Under the contract, the field’s peak oil production is expected to reach 140,000 barrels per day and gas output 40 million standard cubic feet per day. Abadi said the gas “will not be flared” but used to generate energy for field operations, with surplus volumes injected into the reservoir to maintain pressure.

The minister said the government is working to attract major international companies, particularly from the United States and Europe, to develop Iraq’s oil and gas sector to international standards. He said the project would create jobs for Iraqi workers and local companies, and that the ministry would support HKN during implementation.

Abadi described the agreement as “a message to all global companies that Iraq’s investment environment is attractive.”

Hamrin, in Salah al-Din governorate, has been operated by the state-run North Oil Company and produces about 20,000 to 25,000 barrels per day, with recoverable reserves estimated at around 3 billion barrels. The agreement follows a memorandum of understanding signed by the Oil Ministry and HKN in July 2025, after which the cabinet granted the company an exception to bypass standard qualification criteria and receive a direct invitation to develop the field.

HKN Energy is already one of the larger foreign operators in the Kurdistan Region, running the Sarsang block since 2007 and taking over the Atrush block in 2024.

Its expansion into a federal contract comes despite a dispute between Baghdad and Erbil over energy deals the company signed directly with the Kurdistan Regional Government. In May 2025, the federal Oil Ministry filed lawsuits challenging those contracts, while the U.S. State Department publicly backed the agreements.

In July 2025 a drone struck HKN’s Sarsang facility, one of a series of attacks on Kurdistan Region energy infrastructure.

The contract reflects Iraq’s broader push to attract international energy companies. In recent months the government has advanced agreements with companies including BP and Chevron to develop major oil fields, increase associated gas use and strengthen foreign investment in the sector.