RIYADH: US-based oil field service company Halliburton is in talks with Exxon Mobil about the sale of a stake in the huge West Qurna-1 oil field in southern Iraq. Iraq will step in to buy the stake, if the talks with Halliburton fail, but it wants a US partner for Exxon’s stake, Bloomberg reported, citing the country’s Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar. “Basra Oil wants to acquire Exxon’s stake, but to maintain the balance of partners and market, we support a US partner,” Abdul Jabbar said. Earlier, Halliburton stated that reports the company is interested in buying Exxon’s stake are inaccurate. Halliburton emerged as a potential buyer of the 32.7 percent stake in West Qurna-1 some months ago. Energy giant Exxon has been recently dissatisfied with West Qurna due strict contractual terms, OPEC supply constraints, and the current political instability. Abdul Jabbar said that COVID’s new strain hasn’t much impacted global oil demand. He is expecting OPEC+ to increase production by 400,000 barrels next month. He expects to sign a deal with Chevron Corporation in the first quarter of 2022 on a potential investment in the southern city of Nasiriya.