BP says there is potential to increase production at its Rumaila field in Iraq, according to its Upstream Chief Executive Bernard Looney.

Current production stands at between 1.4 and 1.5 million barrels a day (b/d).

Speaking on the sidelines of the IP Week conference in London, Looney said that significant work had gone into maintaining production at current levels and “there are opportunities to grow production over coming years”.

Looney stopped short of saying that BP is on-course to hit its target of producing 2.1 million b/d in 2020.

“We are doing much more than just treading water,” he said.

Between 2009 and December 2017 over 2000 contracts worth nearly $3bn were awarded to Iraqi companies as part of the project.

Over that period Rumaila’s production was increased by more than 300,000 b/d.

BP is developing the Rumaila field with its partners China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), and Iraq’s state-owned South Oil Company.

In 2014 the UK's Petrofac was appointed as the project management consultant (PMC) on the project.