Global oil & gas recruiter Air Energi has won a five-year contract with BP Iraq to supply contingent expatriate personnel for operations at the Rumaila and Kirkuk oil fields. 

It is the company’s largest deal in the region to date, and the first with BP. 

Paul Howarth, Air Energi’s delivery manager for Iraq, told Recruiter the company had been targeting this contract for at least a couple of years and while it was already “quite diversified” across the region, this would “certainly help us expand further”.

He said the company had had a presence in Iraq for five years and had grown every year. In the long term, the company might also add headcount to its Iraq team to help handle the contract.

He added the contract was specifically for the placement of expatriate contractors. Most would come from the UK but some from further afield. The contract to supply local workers to BP Iraq is currently let, but is something Air Energi was considering bidding on in the future.

When asked about security issues in the region, Howarth said open relationships with clients about health & safety policies and Air Energi’s own knowledge of global situations meant they would not mobilise anyone until they were happy with the situation. 

Contractors also go through a rigorous pre-screening and onboarding process to ensure all sides understand what they are getting. Contractors are then kept up to date with latest security-related developments via Air Energi’s global mobility team. 

According to a company statement, the Rumaila field is the second largest in the world and represented 40% of Iraq’s total oil production in 2014.