ConocoPhillips to Buy 42% Stake in BP's Kirkuk Oil Unit as U.S. Pushes Iraq Away From Iran

ConocoPhillips announced Friday, July 17, that it has agreed to buy a 42% interest in BP Energy Company of Kirkuk Limited, the BP unit holding the contract to redevelop several large, currently producing oil fields in northern Iraq's Kirkuk area, according to a company statement carried by StockTitan and confirmed by CNBC and Dow Jones Newswires via Morningstar.

No purchase price was disclosed. Morningstar reported the deal covers an undisclosed sum, and none of the sources named a dollar figure for the ConocoPhillips-BP transaction specifically.

The unit, known as BP ECKL, holds the development and production contract for the Baba and Avanah domes of the Kirkuk oil field, plus three adjacent fields at Bai Hassan, Jambur and Khabbaz, according to StockTitan. That contract covers an initial gross recoverable resource of more than 3 billion barrels of oil equivalent, with additional exploration potential in the surrounding area.

Timed to a White House visit

The deal is expected to be formally signed as part of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani's official visit to Washington this week, according to both CNBC and StockTitan. The Trump administration has been pushing to expand American energy investment in Iraq as a way to pull Baghdad further out of Tehran's orbit.

ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance called it a "unique redevelopment opportunity" that fits the company's "disciplined investment framework," saying it gives ConocoPhillips access to "a material, high-quality and long-life resource base" that clears the company's cost-of-supply bar, according to the company's own statement.

BP CEO Murray Auchincloss framed it as validation of Kirkuk's long-term value, calling it "a world-class resource base that can support Iraq's long-term energy ambitions while creating value for both the country and bp," per CNBC.

The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2026, subject to regulatory approval, with an effective date of July 1, 2026, according to StockTitan. Once it closes, ConocoPhillips will account for the joint venture as an equity affiliate. Notably, the company said the deal is not expected to require significant capital contributions up front, with ConocoPhillips instead getting paid through a proportionate share of incremental production and costs.

Why Kirkuk, why now

BP has operated in Iraq for roughly a century and has focused recent years on the giant Rumaila field. In 2025, BP finalized an agreement with the Iraqi government, ratifying a contract between BP and Iraqi state companies North Oil and North Gas to redevelop the Kirkuk fields, according to Morningstar.

Iraq is actively courting Western energy majors to expand oil and gas output and diversify export routes that don't run through chokepoints Iran can menace. CNBC reported that al-Sudani met with executives from Halliburton, Shell, Honeywell, Weatherford and Baker Hughes in Houston on Thursday, July 16, with talks covering investment, technology and potential participation in major energy projects.

The Strait of Hormuz handled roughly a fifth of global oil flows before the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran disrupted regional exports earlier this year, according to CNBC. Even with the White House declaring hostilities with Iran over, Crypto Briefing noted that continued U.S. military presence in the region signals Washington isn't done maneuvering against Tehran's influence.

A bigger number floating around

Crypto Briefing separately reported a $25 billion figure tied to BP's broader northern Iraq push, describing it as part of a wider U.S.-led strategy to boost Iraq's energy independence. That figure appears to describe BP's total redevelopment investment commitment across the Kirkuk-area fields, not the specific price ConocoPhillips is paying for its 42% stake, a distinction the CNBC, Morningstar and StockTitan reporting does not resolve because none of them disclosed ConocoPhillips' purchase price at all.

Readers should treat the $25 billion figure as describing the scale of the overall Kirkuk redevelopment project, not as confirmation of what ConocoPhillips specifically paid BP for its equity slice.

American companies have burned money and credibility in Iraq before, and pouring more Western capital into a country with a history of instability, corruption concerns, and Iranian-backed militia influence in its own government is not risk-free just because Washington wants it to happen. Critics of past U.S. Iraq energy policy have pointed to years of delayed contracts, security costs, and disputes with Baghdad over payment terms as reasons for caution.

The fundamentals here are notable: ConocoPhillips structured this deal to avoid big upfront capital outlay, getting paid instead from production upside, which limits its downside if Iraq's political or security situation sours.

What's not yet public: the actual purchase price, the specific regulatory approvals still needed from Washington and Baghdad, and whether Iran's government responds to what is, functionally, a U.S.-backed effort to loosen its regional leverage. The deal is set to close by year-end 2026, which gives all of that time to play out.