* Iraq oil minister, BP CEO visit Kirkuk oilfield
* Kirkuk governor pledges full support for BP deal
* BP to boost output from Kirkuk oilfield
KIRKUK, Iraq, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Iraq's oil minister and thechief executive of BP paid a rare visit to the northernKirkuk oilfield on Wednesday to win over the local governmentbefore the UK major starts to revive the field, which straddlesthe border with autonomous Kurdistan.
Baghdad signed a deal in early September for BP to developthe giant oilfield, allowing the company to negotiate access tosignificant reserves in the north in return for helping toarrest a huge decline in output.
Kirkuk's oil riches are at the centre of a crisis within thenational government of Sunni, Shi'ite and Kurdish parties overhow to share power. The KRG rejects BP's Kirkuk pact as illegal,because it has not been consulted.
The project has, however, won crucial support from Kirkuk'sgovernor, Najimeldin Kareem, a Kurd.
"We will provide complete support for BP to develop Kirkukoilfield because it will generate a significant benifit for theprovince in relating to petrodollar revenues", Kareem toldreporters in Kirkuk.
Oil officials with Iraq's state-run North Oil Co (NOC) saidIraqi Oil Minister Abdul Kareem Luaibi accompanied BP CEO BobDudley to the 78-year-old oilfield - where output has slumped toaround 280,000 barrels per day (bpd) from 900,000 bpd in 2001.
"BP has ambitious plans to boost production from the Kirkukoilfield to achieve big benefits for Iraq and the people ofKirkuk," Luaibi told reporters.
The company would work on the Baghdad-administered side ofthe border on the Baba and Avana geological formations. Kirkuk'sthird formation, Khurmala, is controlled by the KurdistanRegional Government (KRG) and being developed by the IraqiKurdish KAR group.
The agreement allows the British oil major - which alreadyoperates Iraq's biggest oilfield, Rumaila - to boost itsexposure in the world's fifth biggest holder of oil reserves.
Baghdad hopes BP will eventually sign a technical servicecontract at Kirkuk like the one for Rumaila, an Iraqi oil sourcesaid. The company expects, however, to negotiate bettercommercial terms for this contract, industry sources said.
At the start, BP will spend up to $100 million to help stopKirkuk's decline and carry out surveys to get a clear picture ofthe field. Iraqi officials have said they would like BP to raiseproduction capacity to around 600,000 bpd in five years.
Iraq's central government and the KRG are locked in awidening dispute over control of oil exports, oilfields andterritory that is fraying the country's uneasy federal union.
Baghdad insists it alone has the sole authority to signdeals and export oil, but Kurdistan says the constitution allowsit to agree to contracts and ship oil independently of Baghdad.
Exxon, Chevron and Total have infuriated the centralgovernment by signing lucrative production sharing agreementswith the KRG. BP has no interest in pursuing upstreamopportunities in Kurdistan, industry sources said.
"Today's visit succeeded in securing the complete supportfrom the local government of Kirkuk and that's exactly what wasneeded for BP to start developing the Kirkuk oilfield," a senioroil official told Reuters.
BP (BP.)