Fields of dreams: The giant reserves fuelling bp’s growth

bp is returning to Kirkuk’s oilfields to help redevelop one of the world’s most historically significant energy regions. Our involvement in northern Iraq stretches back ‎to the 1920s, when bp’s predecessor helped ‎Iraq to locate, produce and export oil from Baba Gurgur in Kirkuk, one of the largest oilfields ‎in the world at that time.

Kirkuk, once among the most prolific regions globally, has vast potential, with a combined resource opportunity estimated at up to 20 billion barrels of oil equivalent.

“bp has a history in that region,” says Mohammed Hussain, bp’s subsurface vice president in the Middle East. “There’s trust that was built over decades and that’s one of the reasons we’ve been invited back.”

bp’s approach to Kirkuk draws on our experience at Rumaila, a supergiant field in southern Iraq. bp actively supports the lead contractor, Basra Energy Company Limited (BECL), in its work to help the operator of the field, the Rumaila Operating Organization. Through the BECL joint venture, we have worked with partners to help deliver a 40% increase in production since 2010. 

The same principles – holistic field planning, digital oilfield technologies, and close collaboration with national partners – are all things we are now looking at in Kirkuk.

One of the first steps is to assist the operator with bringing in real-time monitoring and digital surveillance – technologies that transformed operations at Rumaila. These tools are designed to optimize well performance, predict and avert production issues, and gather the data needed to make smarter decisions.

Kirkuk presents an exciting homecoming for bp. As Mohammed puts it: “It’s the lifeblood of the community, and it’s symbolic of bp’s long-standing relationship with Iraq and our commitment to supporting countries with their energy goals. We’re very proud to be involved again.”

India’s largest offshore oilfield has been a cornerstone of the country’s energy supply for decades. Now, with bp’s involvement, it’s gearing up for a significant performance upgrade.

Our alliance with ONGC, India’s largest government-owned oil and gas exploration and production company, is designed to enhance oil and gas recovery from this mature field to a leading level of performance in the industry. We aim to increase production by sharpening our subsurface understanding and managing reserves with our proven track record in other giant fields.

Over the 10-year contract period, bp estimates a 60% increase in oil and gas output from Mumbai High. That includes an estimated 44% rise in crude oil production and an estimated 89% increase in gas volumes.

For India, this means more energy produced from its own resources and reduced reliance on imports. For bp, it enables us to create value through a share in the increased production we deliver. 

“We’re bringing in our high-performance computing know-how with new seismic processing algorithms, unlocking new insights from ONGC’s data. We’re also using AI-powered production management tools – developed in the Gulf of America – to help ONGC to make Mumbai High more efficient and optimize system-wide production,” says Wayne Beecroft, VP of Mumbai High and director of the technical services provision contract.

bp’s engineers and geoscientists work side by side with ONGC teams in Mumbai, ensuring that bp’s global expertise is tailored to local challenges.

“These fields are natural laboratories for activity,” says Wayne. “If you can use new technology there and make it work, it can be scaled in these giant fields many times over, potentially generating immense value.”

For the past 30 years, the super-sized Caspian oil and gas field, ACG (Azeri-Chirag-Deepwater Gunashli), has helped to fuel Azerbaijan’s growth.

In partnership with the Government of Azerbaijan and our co-venturers, bp serves as  operator of the field, and ACG is among the biggest and most complex fields in our portfolio.

Our seven offshore platforms help to recover the oil and gas loosely packed throughout the field in a series of vertical reservoirs that are stacked like towers of plates.      

“The government is very supportive of us testing new ways of working that could help to unlock production gains,” says Usher Rashdi, AGT base management manager, based in Baku.  

Recent examples of novel techniques include Bright Water™ – a proprietary chemical that bp invented, which expands into rock pores to create more efficient flow paths for oil – and clever ceramic screens that stop sand from clogging wells. ACG also benefits from expertise developed elsewhere in bp, like the ability to drill extended horizontal wells – typically, more productive than vertical wells due to greater contact between well and reservoir. 

ACG production today runs at around 327,000 barrels per day. Sustaining that requires expert management and constant innovation. It’s why ACG has become a testbed for new production techniques, a role strongly encouraged by our partners in Azerbaijan.  

Managing an asset of critical national importance like this brings trust and credibility with our partners that, in turn, can unlock other opportunities, Usher says.

In July, bp signed six major agreements in Azerbaijan, marking a significant step forward for our operations in the region. This includes the next phase of development of the giant Shah Deniz gas field. 

“These giant oil and gas fields do more than just support our objectives of developing resources and maintaining production,” says Usher.

“They also provide a strong foundation in the countries where we want to expand and build relationships.”

The Gulf of America’s giant fields hold some of the highest-margin oil and gas in bp’s portfolio.

With water depths of over 7,000 feet (2,133 metres), and intense pressure from ultra-deep reservoirs, producing oil and gas here requires expertise across engineering, production, technology and more. bp currently operates five platforms in the Gulf, including two in the giant Mad Dog field. 

bp discovered the Mad Dog field in 1998 and began production there with its first platform in 2005. It has a capacity of 100,000 barrels a day. 

Our second platform in the field, Argos, started up in 2023 and is our most advanced facility in the region, with a gross production capacity of up to 140,000 barrels of oil per day. Together, the platforms make up a big part of our aim to average approximately 350,000 barrels a day in the Gulf through the second half of the decade. 

“You get on a helicopter and fly over the Mississippi Delta for an hour and a half and then suddenly, over the horizon, an amazing oil and gas processing facility appears. It’s got wells, accommodation areas, and more, and you realize just how complex it is to put all that together on a platform in the Gulf of America,” says Peter Evans, VP of subsurface in the Gulf of America.

Our sixth operated hub in the Gulf of America, Kaskida, is set to boost production from the region. It has the potential to unlock the future development of 10 billion barrels of discovered resources in place across the Kaskida and neighbouring Tiber catchment areas. 

Since we sanctioned Kaskida in July 2024, we have made good progress, with the project remaining on track for first oil in 2029, and an expected production capacity of 80,000 barrels of crude oil per day.      

“We’re operating in adverse, remote environments and doing really remarkable things,” says Peter.

“More importantly, we’re doing them safely, we’re doing them efficiently, and we are producing a product that the country needs.”