BP to Develop Iraqi Oil Field Near Kurdistan

While former BP CEO Tony Heyward is working for the Kurds

BP's deal to develop an Iraqi oilfield that straddles the border with the autonomous Kurdish region puts it in the front line of a sectarian stand-off, in which rivals and its former CEO have chosen the other side.

Under the draft agreement revealed by Reuters on Wednesday, BP will undertake work to arrest declining production at the Kirkuk oilfield.