British Petroleum (bp) has no ​intention of shying ‌away from the Middle ​East, CEO Meg ⁠O’Neill told ​the Energy ​Intelligence conference in London on Monday.

O’Neill ​added that ​bp is working ‌with ⁠the Iraqi government to understand options for ​new ​export ⁠routes, including a ​northern route as Reuters reported.

bp has a long history of oil exploration and production in Iraq that dates back ‎to the 1920s when the company helped ‎Iraq locate, produce and export oil from Baba Gurgur, Kirkuk. This was the largest oilfield ‎in the world at that time.

Since becoming bp’s CEO in April, O’Neil has been pursuing a restructuring of the company and its assets with the aim of cutting debt and shifting capital toward higher‑value projects in some regions.

As part of this strategy, bp sold a 15% working interest in its Iraqi subsidiary, BP Energy Company of Kirkuk Limited (BP ECKL), to Türkiye Petrolleri Anonim Ortaklığı (TPAO).

However, bp will remain the majority shareholder and a key participant in BP Energy Company of Kirkuk Limited (BP ECKL), holding 43%. At the time of announcing the transaction, O’Neill noted that Kirkuk is a world-class resource base that can support Iraq’s long-term energy ambitions. Its development covers an initial phase of oil and gas production of more than 3 billion barrels of oil equivalent (bboe).

During 2026, bp agreed to sell its Austrian retail business, completed the divestment of its Gelsenkirchen refinery in Germany, launched the sale of its UK North Sea business, and announced plans to market Archaea Energy, its US biogas subsidiary.

This led bp to reduce its net debt during the second quarter of 2026 by more than 11% QoQ to $22.25 billion and now targets $8 billion to $9 billion in total divestment proceeds for full-year 2026.

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