BAGHDAD: Iraq signed an agreement with British energy giant British Petroleum on Thursday to develop four oil and gas fields in the northern province of Kirkuk.

A memorandum of understanding was signed by Iraq’s Oil Minister Hayan Abdel Ghani and BP’s CEO Murray Auchincloss, Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani’s media office said.

“The memorandum includes the rehabilitation and development of the four oilfields under the North Oil Company in Kirkuk: the Kirkuk oilfield, Bai Hassan, Jambur and Khabbaz oilfields,” the statement said.

“This initiative is part of the government’s efforts to optimally invest in promising energy opportunities, aiming to increase and enhance oil production and gas and solar energy investments,” it added.

BP is one of the biggest foreign players in Iraq’s oil sector, with a history of producing oil in the country dating back to the 1920s when it was still under British mandate.