North Oil Company

North Oil Company (NOC) is an Iraqi state-owned petroleum company headquartered in Kirkuk. It is one of the 16 companies owned by Iraq's Ministry of Oil and operates within a large northern area whose stated boundaries extend from Iraq's northern borders southward to approximately the 32.5-degree parallel, just south of Baghdad. The company is therefore not a consumer-facing energy brand but a government-controlled operating enterprise involved in upstream petroleum activity, field management, production, infrastructure, and related oil and gas development. NOC's principal area of responsibility is the Kirkuk oil-producing region, a strategically important part of Iraq's petroleum sector. Together with North Gas Company, it is responsible for exploration, management, and production activities in Kirkuk and, according to the available reference material, the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Its work includes managing oil-field output and supporting infrastructure, as well as coordinating with other Iraqi entities and international contractors or investors on field rehabilitation and development. A major infrastructure asset associated with NOC is the Kirkuk–Ceyhan Oil Pipeline, which connects northern Iraqi production with the Turkish Mediterranean export terminal at Ceyhan. In August 2024, the company carried out repairs intended to enable the pipeline to resume operations after an agreement involving Iraqi authorities and Kurdish representatives. The pipeline's condition and operating status are important to northern Iraqi export capacity because it provides a route for crude produced around Kirkuk and other northern fields. NOC has continued to expand or formalize development activity through partnerships and concessions. In October 2024, it and the Iraqi KAR group granted concessions involving the Alaan and Sasan oil and gas fields to Chinese companies. In December 2024, NOC rehabilitated a key gas plant that had been out of service for a decade, indicating an effort to restore associated gas-processing capacity alongside crude-oil operations. In February 2025, the company recommended production from 35 wells in the Kirkuk region. In March 2025, it finalized a contract with North Gas Company and BP for redevelopment of the Kirkuk oil field. The company's role in the Kurdistan Region is connected to Iraq's broader constitutional and administrative dispute over control of petroleum resources. By 2026, the available reference material described NOC as having extended its operations into the Kurdistan Region and holding exclusive authority there to explore, manage, and produce oil following an International Chamber of Commerce ruling that favored Iraq's position that the country's oil should be placed under central control. This gives NOC significance beyond its operational activities: it is also an instrument of Baghdad's centralized petroleum-management policy. NOC's public identity is consequently defined by state ownership, geographic responsibility, and its role in maintaining northern Iraqi production and export infrastructure. The available material does not identify a separate consumer brand portfolio, public listing, revenue figures, or a standalone corporate website URL. Its activities are instead presented through Iraq's Ministry of Oil and through project, pipeline, field-development, and intergovernmental arrangements.

North Oil Company is an Iraqi state-owned petroleum enterprise based in Kirkuk and owned through Iraq's Ministry of Oil. The available reference material does not establish a precise founding year or identify an individual founder. Instead, it describes NOC as one of 16 companies belonging to the Iraqi Ministry of Oil and as a key public operator for northern Iraq. The company's designated operating area covers a broad northern zone, extending from Iraq's northern borders to the 32.5-degree parallel south of Baghdad. Its central focus is Kirkuk, one of Iraq's historically important petroleum regions. NOC works alongside North Gas Company on exploration, management, and production of oil and gas in Kirkuk and the Kurdistan Region. Its remit includes both field operations and strategic infrastructure supporting the movement and processing of hydrocarbons. The Kirkuk–Ceyhan Oil Pipeline is one of the most important assets associated with the company. The pipeline provides a northern export route from Iraq toward Ceyhan in Turkey. In August 2024, NOC undertook repairs intended to help restore the pipeline after an agreement involving Iraqi and Kurdish authorities. This episode reflected the operational and political importance of the northern export corridor. NOC's more recent activity has focused on restoring capacity and bringing additional fields and wells into production. In October 2024, it and the Iraqi KAR group granted concessions for the Alaan and Sasan oil and gas fields to Chinese companies. In December of the same year, NOC rehabilitated a significant gas plant that had been inactive for about ten years. In February 2025, it recommended production from 35 wells in the Kirkuk region. The following month, it finalized a Kirkuk oil-field redevelopment contract with North Gas Company and BP. The company's role also reflects Iraq's continuing contest over authority to manage and export petroleum from the Kurdistan Region. The available material states that, by 2026, NOC had extended its operations into the region and held exclusive authority to explore, manage, and produce oil there. This position followed an International Chamber of Commerce ruling supporting Iraq's decision to place the country's oil under central control. NOC thus functions both as an operating company and as a vehicle for implementing Baghdad's centralized petroleum policy. No reliable information in the supplied material establishes NOC's revenue, production volumes, executive roster, founding date, public listing, or separate official web address. Its documented identity rests on government ownership, northern Iraqi geographic responsibility, Kirkuk field operations, pipeline management, gas-plant rehabilitation, and cooperation with domestic and international partners.

• 2026

  Expanded authority in the Kurdistan Region

  [1]North Oil Companyen.wikipedia.org

  The available reference describes NOC as having extended operations into the Kurdistan Region and holding exclusive authority to explore, manage, and produce oil there after an International Chamber of Commerce ruling favoring centralized Iraqi control.

• 2025

  Recommendation to produce from 35 wells

  [1]North Oil Companyen.wikipedia.org

  NOC recommended production from 35 wells in the Kirkuk region.

• 2025

  Kirkuk field redevelopment contract

  [1]North Oil Companyen.wikipedia.org

  NOC finalized a redevelopment contract with North Gas Company and BP for the Kirkuk oil field.

• 2024

  Kirkuk–Ceyhan pipeline repairs

  [1]North Oil Companyen.wikipedia.org

  NOC repaired the Kirkuk–Ceyhan Oil Pipeline to support the resumption of operations following an agreement involving Iraqi and Kurdish authorities.

• 2024

  Alaan and Sasan field concessions

  [1]North Oil Companyen.wikipedia.org

  NOC and the Iraqi KAR group granted concessions involving the Alaan and Sasan oil and gas fields to Chinese companies.

• 2024

  Gas-plant rehabilitation

  [1]North Oil Companyen.wikipedia.org

  The company rehabilitated a key gas plant that had been inactive for ten years.

A state-owned northern Iraqi upstream oil and gas operator responsible for Kirkuk-centered exploration, production, field management, and strategic export infrastructure.

• Crude oil

  Kirkuk crude oil

  Crude oil produced through NOC's exploration, field-management, and production activities in the Kirkuk region. The company is an upstream state operator rather than a retail fuel brand, so its output is supplied into Iraq's broader petroleum and export system.

• Natural gas

  Natural gas and associated gas

  NOC participates with North Gas Company in northern Iraqi gas operations connected to oil production and field development. Its rehabilitation of a long-idled gas plant in 2024 indicates a role in restoring processing and utilization capacity.

• Upstream services and operations

  Oil-field exploration and production

  NOC's core operating offering is the exploration, management, and production of oil and gas fields in its northern Iraqi area, including Kirkuk and, according to the available reference, the Kurdistan Region.

• 2025

  Recommend production from 35 Kirkuk wellsProduct launch

  Background

  NOC reviewed additional well capacity in the Kirkuk region.

  Action taken

  The company recommended production from 35 wells.

  Aftermath

  The reference does not establish whether all 35 wells subsequently entered production.

  Source

• 2025

  Finalize Kirkuk oil-field redevelopment agreementStrategy

  Background

  The Kirkuk field required a redevelopment framework involving Iraqi operating companies and an international oil company.

  Action taken

  NOC finalized a contract with North Gas Company and BP to redevelop the Kirkuk oil field.

  Aftermath

  The agreement established a redevelopment partnership; the supplied material provides no production target, cost, or schedule.

  Source

• 2024

  Repair the Kirkuk–Ceyhan export pipelineStrategy

  Background

  The northern export pipeline required repairs before operations could resume following an agreement involving Iraqi and Kurdish authorities.

  Action taken

  NOC carried out repair work on the Kirkuk–Ceyhan Oil Pipeline.

  Aftermath

  The repairs were intended to restore the pipeline's operating capability; the supplied material does not provide throughput or financial results.

  Source

• 2024

  Award concessions for the Alaan and Sasan fieldsM&A

  Background

  NOC and the Iraqi KAR group sought development arrangements for the Alaan and Sasan oil and gas fields.

  Action taken

  The partners granted concessions involving the fields to Chinese companies.

  Aftermath

  The available material confirms the concession awards but does not identify the companies, investment values, or production outcomes.

  Source

• 2024

  Rehabilitate a long-idled gas plantStrategy

  Background

  A key gas plant had remained out of service for approximately ten years.

  Action taken

  NOC restored the facility as part of efforts to recover northern Iraqi gas-processing capacity.

  Aftermath

  The plant was rehabilitated, but the supplied material does not state its capacity or subsequent output.

  Source

• 2025

  NOC recommends production from 35 Kirkuk wells[1]North Oil Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Product generation

  The company recommended commencing or resuming production from 35 wells in the Kirkuk region.

• 2025

  NOC, North Gas Company, and BP finalize Kirkuk redevelopment contract[1]North Oil Companyen.wikipedia.org

  M&A · Other

  NOC finalized a contract with North Gas Company and BP to redevelop the Kirkuk oil field.

• 2024

  North Oil Company repairs Kirkuk–Ceyhan pipeline[1]North Oil Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  NOC carried out repairs to the Kirkuk–Ceyhan Oil Pipeline following an agreement intended to support the resumption of pipeline operations.

• 2024

  NOC and KAR group grant Alaan and Sasan concessions to Chinese companies[1]North Oil Companyen.wikipedia.org

  M&A

  North Oil Company and the Iraqi KAR group granted concessions involving the Alaan and Sasan oil and gas fields to Chinese companies.

• 2024

  North Oil Company rehabilitates long-idled gas plant[1]North Oil Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  NOC restored a key gas plant that had reportedly been out of service for approximately ten years.

1. 1North Oil Companyen.wikipedia.org