Monday was one of the happiest days of my life. My wife and I became grandparents to our first grandchild, Abby Mei. This is the third generation of my family in the United States. More than 40 years ago, I crossed the Pacific to become a graduate student at the University of Chicago, and more than 70 years ago, my parents immigrated from a village in China to Nanchang, the capital city of the Jiangxi Province in Southern China. They sailed down the Gan River, a tributary of the Yangtze River system. It is crazy to reflect on how life flows and continues over decades.
Tomorrow, I'll be moderating a conversation with experts from Westwood Energy Group and Talos Energy around the state of exploration in mid-year 2026. The webinar is free to attend. You can register here.
Now, let’s dig into two pieces of energy news from around the world.
Shangyou Nie
Editor, Well Read
Iraq Signs Field Development Deal with HKN, as the Country Welcomes more U.S. Investors
Drilling rig activity in Kurdistan. Photo by:Yoyok Langgeng/Shutterstock.com
Iraq’s North Oil Company signed a development agreement with Texas company HKN Energy last week.
HKN will take over operatorship to develop the Hamrin oil field. The latest signing is an Iraqi government effort to attract more American investors to its oil and gas sector, as Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi visits President Trump in the United States this week.
About the deal:
According to Upstream, HKN Energy plans to increase production from the Hamrin oil field sevenfold. Its current production is roughly 20,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, and it would increase to 140,000 boed.
The Hamrin oil field is situated in north-central Iraq, between the Salahuddin and Kirkuk regions, and is estimated to contain 3 billion barrels of oil.
Gas produced will be used for power generation for field operations or injected to maintain reservoir pressure.
Last year, Iraq was the world’s third-largest flared gas generator after Russia and Iran, according to data from the World Bank.
Iraqi Oil Minister Basim Khudair Al-Abadi attended the signing ceremony.
The Iraqi government gave formal approval for the development license in late June after a long wait.
It currently operates two producing assets (Sarsang and Atrush) in Kurdistan, with a gross capacity of 45,000 barrels of oil per day.
HKN has had 62 percent equity in the Sarsang Block in the Kurdistan region of Iraq since 2007.
HKN purchased 25 percent equity and took over the operatorship for the Atrush block, also in Kurdistan.
According to Upstream, HKN is owned by real estate developer and businessman Ross Perot Jr., the son of Henry Ross Perot, a third-party presidential candidate in 1992.
It is not known when Perot took over ownership of HKN.
Other agreements in Iraq: Iraq has recently signed several agreements to allow Western, especially American, companies to return to its oil and gas sector.
In late June, the Iraqi government cleared a legal hurdle for ExxonMobil to help develop the Majnoon—the largest Iraqi oil field. ExxonMobil signed a Heads of Agreement in October 2025 to take over the operatorship of the Majnoon oil field.
Also in late June, the Iraqi government awarded two service contracts to Halliburton to help develop two oil fields, Nahr Bin Omar and Sindbad in southern Iraq.
In early June, Iraq signed an agreement with Chevron to potentially take over operatorship for the West Qurna 2 field, which is estimated to contain 13 billion barrels of oil. State-led Basra Oil Company (BOC) is the current operator, after taking over the operatorship from Russian company Lukoil.
In early July, BOC signed agreements with a Chevron-led consortium to proceed with two export oil pipelines northwestward toward Turkey and Syria, to avoid having to transport through the Strait of Hormuz.
The bigger picture:
Iraq was the world’s fifth-largest oil producer (4.3 million barrels of oil per day) in 2025. It hopes to increase production to 7 million barrels of oil per day.
Iraq opened its oil sector to foreign investors around 2010, including ExxonMobil and Shell; however, tough fiscal terms forced some companies to exit the projects.
In the meantime, Asian investors, especially China’s CNPC, increased their holdings in Iraq.
According to the World Bank’s Global Gas Flaring Tracker, global gas flaring reached 167 billion cubic meters in 2025, a 6 percent increase YOY.
This is the sixth consecutive year in which gas flaring has increased since 2019, after some earlier progress was made to reduce gas flaring worldwide.
What to watch:
When will ExxonMobil officially return to Iraq to develop the giant Majnoon oil field?
Which other American and Western IOCs will (re)enter Iraq?
What new measures might be put in place to help reduce gas flaring in Iraq?
What move might Chinese NOCs make in the current environment?
Exploration is changing rapidly, and the decisions made today will shape the discoveries of tomorrow.
Tomorrow, join AAPG Academy for The State of Exploration: Mid-Year Update and Outlook, a free webinar sponsored by Westwood Global Energy Group. You'll hear from experts at Westwood and Talos Energy, as they speak to questions including:
What separates today's most successful exploration teams from others?
Where are the upcoming exploration hotspots?
Why hasn't exploration drilling increased despite renewed energy interest?
The IEA Chief Urges the European Union to Allow Arctic Drilling for Oil in Norway
Photo by: Pavlo Lys/Shutterstock.com
Fatih Birol, the executive director of the International Energy Agency, urged the European Union to lift its Moratorium on Drilling for oil and gas in the Arctic.
The European Union has been cautious around new fossil fuel exploration and development in the Norwegian Arctic Sea, but it is now considering ending the ban.
Why it matters:
The importance of Norway's oil and gas production has increased following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Iran War, and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Norway was Europe’s largest oil producer at 1.9 million barrels per day.
Norway is one of the main oil and gas suppliers to Europe, providing some 30 percent of gas consumption in the European Union and the United Kingdom.
Background:
Norway is not part of the European Union; however, the European Union banned new Arctic drilling in 2021.
Norway has actively been trying to request that the European Union lift the Moratorium, with 12 ministers visiting Brussels in 2026 thus far.
In March, ten oil and gas companies requested that the European Union reconsider its policy on Arctic drilling.
What they’re saying:
“I support that the commission look very closely at this issue because it is extremely important for European energy security,” said Birol last Thursday in Brussels, according to Bloomberg.
“The world needs every drop of oil from Norway,” added Birol.
“Of course, there are environmental concerns that we have to take into account,” said Jens Stoltenberg, Norwegian Finance Minister.
“To say no, there should be no oil and gas exploration in the Arctic, doesn’t make sense for Norway,” added Stoltenberg.
Changing tide?
The IEA has been one of the most progressive international energy agencies promoting energy transition since 2015. It is significant that its leader would publicly promote new oil and gas drilling in the Arctic.
The Trump Administration has challenged the IEA’s pro-renewable views.
The recent wars in Ukraine and Iran have replaced energy security at the top of the agenda for many countries, especially in Europe.
In the meantime, the pace of the energy transition has slowed, as many European companies, such as BP and Shell, have returned to their core oil and gas businesses.
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