ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iraq has invited major US oil companies to bid on managing the massive West Qurna 2 oilfield in Basra province, the oil ministry said on Monday, after Russian oil giant Lukoil - the field’s operator - declared force majeure at the field last month. 

“The transfer of the management of the West Qurna 2 field to one of the American oil companies will serve common interests, enhance the stability of global markets, and ensure the continuity of Iraqi oil production operations and its market share, as well as the sustainability of the state's resources,” the oil ministry said in a statement. 

West Qurna 2, one of the world’s largest oil fields, is 75 percent owned by Lukoil, which was the target of US sanctions in August, with Washington accusing the company of helping finance Russia’s war in Ukraine. 

Lukoil in November declared force majuere at West Qurna 2 under the weight of US sanctions, with sources telling Reuters that Lukoil informed Iraq’s oil ministry that it is unable to continue normal operations at the field.

The Iraqi oil ministry said the invitations aim to transfer “the management of the West Qurna 2 field to one of these companies that will win through transparent competition and according to the approved standards.”

“The contribution of more major American companies to the development of Iraq’s oil sector confirms the strategic importance of Iraq in this sector and contributes to the diversification of international expertise working in it, thereby achieving Iraq’s economic and strategic interests,” the ministry added.

The field contains around 14 billion barrels of recoverable reserves. 

In November, Lukoil announced that it began selling some overseas assets after being added to a US sanctions list. The company said it is restructuring its foreign investments due to restrictions.

In an exclusive interview with The New Region in late October, Russian Ambassador to Iraq Elbrus Kutrashev said US sanctions on Russian oil and gas companies will not affect Moscow’s energy investments in Iraq or the Kurdistan Region.

“We have got used to sanctions. These new sanctions… do not affect much. I would say they do not affect anything,” Kutrashev said, noting that the impact of the censures is limited to making the “managers’ work a bit more difficult.”