In a recent letter, the Basra Oil Company said it would neither approve a sale to two Chinese companies nor buy out Exxon's stake on the same terms.

The widely respected geologist, whose career spanned decades in both federal Iraq and Kurdistan, died May 1 after contracting coronavirus.

Saudi Arabia's Delta Oil Company is a potential partner along with U.S. firm Schlumberger to bring badly needed investment and gas supply to Anbar province.

Several projects still wastefully burn associated gas, but a new power plant is the latest sign that Kurdistan is harnessing gas to boost electricity and reduce expensive fuel imports.

As OPEC-plus quotas ease, Iraq is bringing dormant production capacity back online.

Because of weaker global oil prices, Iraqi oil revenues dropped 5 percent even though exports ticked upward.

Nationwide oil output fell by 100,000 bpd, but the Oil Ministry is poised to bring new production online as OPEC quotas look set to ease.