After an assessment of the block's potential, Hungarian energy company MOL and its partners gave up their stake in an oil field in the Kurdish north of Iraq.

MOL Hungarian Oil and Gas said it relinquished its holdings in the Akri-Bijeel block in the Kurdish north of Iraq, in agreement with its British partners at Gulf Keystone Petroleum and the semiautonomous Kurdistan Regional Government.

"The decision is based on a comprehensive assessment of the block potential," the Hungarian energy company said in an emailed statement.

MOL offered no figures on the expected potential from the reserve area in the north of Iraq. Both companies remain key stakeholders in the regional Shaikan area.

Jon Ferrier, the CEO at Gulf Keystone Petroleum, said the commitment to the Kurdish north of Iraq remains strong.

"We ended the year with stable average daily production rates of above 36,000 barrels of oil per day in December," he said in a statement.

The KRG started independent oil sales in June, averaging earnings of around $682 million per month. Total preliminary crude oil production from the Kurdish north for November, the last full month for which data are available, was estimated at 19 million barrels.