Iraq to nationalise West Qurna 2 oilfield operations, Chevron and Quantum bid for Lukoil

The Iraqi cabinet has approved nationalising the petroleum operations in the West Qurna 2 oil field, in accordance with the provisions of a service contract signed with Russia’s Lukoil, the government said in a statement.
The cabinet also agreed to seek approvals to finance operations through the Majnoon oilfield account, to be boosted by proceeds from crude shipments sold by state oil marketer SOMO.
Lukoil declared force majeure in November at West Qurna 2 as it was hit with sanctions alongside Rosneft as part of US President Donald Trump’s push to end the war in Ukraine.
Lukoil’s 75 percent operational stake in Iraq’s West Qurna 2 oilfield, one of the world’s largest with output of around 470,000 barrels per day, was its biggest foreign asset.
The field accounts for about half a percent of world oil supply and nine percent of total output in Iraq, OPEC’s second-largest producer after Saudi Arabia.
In the meanwhile, US oil giant Chevron and private equity firm Quantum Capital Group have partnered in a bid for Lukoil’s international assets, valued at $22 billion, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.
The offer targets Lukoil’s entire non-Russian portfolio, including oil and gas production, refining facilities and over 2,000 filling stations spanning Europe, Asia and the Middle East, according to people familiar with the matter cited by the FT.
If successful, Chevron and Quantum would divide the assets between them and commit to long-term ownership and operation, a pledge expected to appeal to the administration of US President Donald Trump, the report said.
The bid is led by Quantum, working with its London-based portfolio company Artemis Energy. The offer price was not immediately available, the FT reported.
The report added that Lukoil’s foreign assets had also whetted the appetite of US investment company Carlyle and Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund IHC.
Swiss energy trading company Gunvor withdrew its takeover bid after being labelled a front for the Kremlin by Washington in November.
At the end of October 2025, in order to put pressure on Russia in its war with Ukraine, the United States added Russia’s two largest oil producers, Lukoil and Rosneft, to its blacklist of sanctioned entities.
Companies working with the Russian giants risk secondary sanctions, which would deny access to US banks, traders, transporters and insurers.
On December 4, the US government suspended some of the sanctions against Lukoil to allow filling stations outside Russia to continue operating. This exemption runs until April 29.
A few days later, on December 10, Washington gave foreign investors permission to negotiate the purchase of Lukoil’s assets abroad without risking US reprisals.