DUBAI (Reuters) -Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani met with the former CEO of Russia’s Lukoil to discuss ways of resolving disruptions to the oil company’s operations in the wake of U.S. sanctions, the prime minister’s office said on Monday.
Lukoil has declared force majeure at its West Qurna-2 field in southern Iraq, sources told Reuters last week, marking the biggest fallout yet from sanctions imposed on Russian oil companies last month as U.S. President Donald Trump pushes to end the war in Ukraine.
Sudani told Vagit Alekperov that Iraq remained committed to stable global oil markets, his office said in a statement. The West Qurna-2 operations are continuing to produce around 480,000 barrels per day, it added.
The field, Lukoil’s most prized foreign asset, produces roughly 9% of Iraq’s oil output.
The statement incorrectly described Alekperov as “head of Russia’s Lukoil”.
Alekperov, Russia’s richest person, resigned as Lukoil boss in 2022 after Britain imposed sanctions against him. It was not clear in what capacity he was speaking on behalf of the company.
Officials have warned that if force majeure conditions at West Qurna-2 persist for six months, Lukoil could shut production and exit the project entirely.
Officials at the field said production is continuing normally, but warned output could gradually decline if financial issues are not resolved soon.
Payments to Lukoil have been frozen and crude allocations cancelled, sources said, as Iraq seeks a mechanism to keep the field operating without breaching sanctions.
(Reporting by Ahmed Rasheed; Writing by Elwely Elwelly; Editing by Joe Bavier)
