British oil giant BP plc and the Iraqi government reached a final deal on Tuesday for the rehabilitation and redevelopment of several oil fields in the Kirkuk Governorate. BP said it will set up an operating organization to take the fields over from Qatar's North Oil Company, after which it will form a standalone incorporated joint venture to hold its interests in the operator.

The agreement covers an initial phase, starting this year, in which BP expects to produce over 3 billion barrels of oil equivalent. It estimated the wider resources across the contract and surrounding area include up to 20 billion barrels of oil equivalent.