Chevron has signed a preliminary deal with Iraq’s Basra Oil Company to discuss the potential sale of the giant Iraqi oilfield West Qurna 2, formerly operated by Russia’s Lukoil, to the U.S. supermajor.
The preliminary agreement, signed on Monday, allows exchange of confidential data and could lead to exclusive talks for Chevron to take over West Qurna 2, whose operations were recently transferred to the Iraqi state-owned company.
The preliminary agreements also establish an outline for a period of exclusive negotiations, the U.S. supermajor said in a statement carried by Bloomberg.
The agreements would only take effect if they are approved by the federal Iraqi government and hinge on other approvals, including from the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), Chevron noted.
Last week, Iraq and Lukoil, which is now under U.S. sanctions, reached an “amicable settlement” to transfer the operations of West Qurna 2 to Basra Oil Company.
Lukoil had a 75% equity stake in West Qurna 2, which produces more than 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil.
At the end of January, Lukoil announced it had agreed to sell most of its international assets to private equity giant Carlyle.
But the agreement is not exclusive and is subject to conditions such as the procurement of necessary regulatory approvals, including permission from OFAC.
Despite the deal with Carlyle, a consortium comprising Chevron and a group led by an investment bank were reportedly pursuing negotiations with Lukoil and U.S. officials to buy some of the Russian firm’s international assets.
Lukoil continues negotiations with other potential buyers, Russia’s second-largest oil producer, noted in the press release at the end of January.
Following the U.S. sanctions on Lukoil and Rosneft, “as a result of Russia’s lack of serious commitment to a peace process to end the war in Ukraine,” Lukoil announced in October it would sell all of its international assets, initiating a formal process to receive bids from potential buyers.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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