Vallares, the bid vehicle of former BP boss Tony Hayward and financier Nat Rothschild, is in early stage talks to buy Genel Enerji, the biggest oil producer in Kurdistan in northern Iraq, the Sunday Times said.

The newspaper cited unidentified sources as saying Genel Enerji was one of several firms Vallares is talking to, although it did not name any others.

Vallares raised 1.35 billion pounds ($2.2 billion) from investors last month to target emerging market oil assets.

The project marked Hayward's return from the business wilderness after he was ousted from BP in the wake of last year's Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Genel Enerji agreed to merge with London-listed Heritage Oil in 2009, but Heritage pulled out of the deal after Britain's financial regulator fined Genel Enerji boss Mehmet Sepil for insider trading in Heritage's shares.

Vallares was not immediately available for comment.-Reuters