U.S. oil major Chevron Corp. tentatively plans to sign a memorandum of understanding with Iraq to develop one of the country's large oil fields, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Aug. 17, citing people familiar with the matter.

Chevron and the Iraqi government are discussing the potential execution of exploration work in Iraq's southern Nassiriya oil field, which is estimated to hold about 4.4 billion barrels of crude, the report said.

The WSJ report said the preliminary deal, if consummated, could be announced later this week during a planned visit to Washington by Iraq's new prime minister, Mustafa Al-Kadhimi.

Chevron said it does not comment on market speculation or matters of a commercial nature.