More Oil Discovered in Northern Iraqi Kurdistan

In July 2009 the British oil & gas company, Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd., was awarded a Production Sharing Contract for the Sheikh Adi block, part of the Shaikan structure in Northern Iraq, by the Kurdistan Regional Government. Gulf Keystone Petroleum was given an 80% interest, with the remaining 20% staying under the control of the KRG.

Gulf Keystone are happy to confirm the presence of oil in block after their preliminary tests yielded a flow rate of 4,235 barrels of heavy crude oil a day.

A statement released by the company said that, “the notification of the discovery follows the completion of a well testing program of the Sheikh Adi-2 exploration well on the block, located immediately to the west of the company's Shaikan block, which is a major commercial discovery.”

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Two facilities are currently been developed in the region with a predicted production capacity of 40,000 barrels per day for the middle of next year, and then a full-scale production capacity of 150,000 barrels per day expected by 2015.

Todd Kozel, CEO of Gulf Keystone Petroleum, commented that “this most recent exploration success points to the significant potential for further growth and future synergies across our world-class acreage in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.”

By. James Burgess of Oilprice.com