BAGHDAD (AP) -- U.S. oil giant Chevron says it has signed a deal with Iraq's Kurdish regional government to expand its oil exploration territory in the northern self-rule region.

The California-based company said in a statement emailed Tuesday that it acquired the rights to hunt in the Qara Dagh exploration block, which is located southeast of the regional capital Irbil.

Financial terms weren't disclosed.

Chevron last year became the second U.S. oil major after Exxon Mobil to sign an energy exploration deal with the Kurds, signing up for two exploration blocks north of Irbil.

Iraq's central government in Baghdad has been in a long-running dispute with the Kurds over energy policy and disputed land rights. Baghdad wants to manage the country's energy resources nationwide and have the final say on energy deals.