Kurdistan Oil & Gas Development

[Anthea]

Iraqi Kurdistan Sells First Crude via Turkey

The first cargo of Iraqi Kurdistan’s crude oil has been sold on the international market, industry sources report.

World Bulletin says that the crude, pumped from Genel Energy‘s Taq Taq oilfield (pictured), was exported by truck to Turkey and sold via tender for loading in April.

One trader said the cargo sold was 30,000 tonnes, which at Friday’s market prices was worth around $22 million.

S.E.T. Select Energy GmbH, an energy firm based in Hamburg, Germany, won the tender issued by intermediary Powertrans, according to two industry sources.

The direct trade of crude and condensate by truck through Turkey has been rising steadily and now stands at close to 50,000 barrels per day (bpd). Exports of Taq Taq crude by truck are now more than 25,000 bpd, industry sources said.

Genel Energy expects to export oil by pipeline from its fields in Iraqi Kurdistan by 2014.

http://www.iraq-businessnews.com/2013/0 ... ia-turkey/

[Anthea]

Original post by Aslan

viewtopic.php?f=28&t=12414

A rapid oil appraisal program is under way in the Kurdish region of Iraq following a successful test of a second well, Genel Energy said.

Anglo-Turkish company Genel Energy announced its second test in the Chia Surkh 10 well yielded a sustained preliminary flow rate of 3,200 barrels of oil per day and 8.4 million cubic feet of natural gas.

The test confirms that Chia Surkh is a significant oil discovery, Genel said. Early this month, the company said it reached a test rate of 11,950 barrels of oil per day from its first of five exploration wells in the Chia Surkh discovery area.

Genel Director of Exploration John Hurst said the second test in the Chia Surkh region gives the company reason for optimism.

We will continue with our rapid appraisal and development program, including the first appraisal well now under way and will be evaluating and drilling a number of other prospects we have in the Chia Surkh license, he said in a statement.

The semiautonomous Kurdish government gave Genel permission in January to export crude oil to Turkey by road shipments. Genel is working to convert a natural gas pipeline to facilitate additional oil deliveries.

Oil flow through the 600-mile Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline was disrupted this week when militants attacked the pipeline in Iraq.

http://www.albawaba.com/business/iraq-o ... ry--487814

[Anthea]

Oil Voice

Oil Search reports that as at 06:00 hours KRI time on 24 April, the Taza 1 ST2 well was at a depth of 3,351 metres and undergoing a well test of the Euphrates Formation and part of the Dhiban Formation.

The well test, which is being conducted in a 4-1/8' hole, commenced on 20 April. In the initial flow period, the well cleaned up to 99% oil (38 degree API) with flow rates of 400-500 barrels of oil per day and 1 million standard cubic feet per day of gas.

The well test will continue, in order to gain further information on the fluid properties and flow rates.

The participants in Taza 1 are:

Oil Search (Iraq) Limited * - 60%
Total E&P Kurdistan Region of Iraq (Taza) B.V. - 20%
Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) - 20%
Total - 100%

* Oil Search's funding interest is 75%, with the KRG carried by Oil Search and Total E&P Kurdistan Region of Iraq (Taza) B.V.

http://www.oilvoice.com/n/Oil_Search_pr ... 0fcef.aspx

[Anthea]

Oil Voice

Significant operational progress made in the last 3.5 years between the Shaikan-1 discovery in 2009 and the submission of the Shaikan Field Development Plan ("FDP") in early 2013, which is currently being reviewed by regulatory authorities.

Gulf Keystone's ramp up in production fully aligned with the region's ongoing infrastructure development.

Extensive drilling campaign continues with the Company's 18th and 19th wells: Shaikan-7 deep exploration well & Shaikan-10 development well to spud in Q2 2013.

Gulf Keystone, a leading independent E&P operator in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, is pleased to provide an update on its four blocks in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, including the world class discoveries at Shaikan and Sheikh Adi, as well as Akri-Bijeel and Ber Bahr.

Background

With the Shaikan commercial discovery alone, Gulf Keystone has one of the world's largest onshore conventional oil & gas developments with a Pmean 13.7 billion barrels of gross oil-in-place as set out by Dynamic Global Advisors, independent Houston-based exploration consultants. A recent report by Goldman Sachs highlights the scale of the Shaikan development and the fact that in 2015 the global production increase will in part come from the Shaikan field*. The Company continues to be highly active with the drill bit, in order to further prove the value of its blocks.

Today Gulf Keystone is on the verge of moving into a phase of significant production, with the capacity to produce up to 40,000 barrels of oil per day ("bopd") from Shaikan in the coming months and up to 400,000 bopd in the coming years. The Company will be a key contributor in meeting the Kurdistan Regional Government's oil production targets of 1 million bopd in 2015 and 2 million bopd by 2019.

Considerable progress is being made on the regional pipeline infrastructure development and the Company's increasing production will be matched by the available export capacity. The size and quality of the Company's fields is now increasingly recognised and a number of the world's largest oil companies, including ExxonMobil, Chevron and Total, are now following Gulf Keystone's lead and commencing active work programmes in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

*Goldman Sachs: April 12, 2013 - "380 projects to change the world. From resource constraint to infrastructure constraint"

Commenting on today's announcement, Todd Kozel, Executive Chairman and CEO, said:

"As one of the first companies to see the potential of the region, over the last five years Gulf Keystone has drilled or participated in nearly 20 wells and remains one of the most active operators in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Shaikan is the largest onshore development worldwide today not in the hands of a major operator. However, we believe that we have only scratched the surface of the true value of our blocks and our ongoing exploration and appraisal activity is expected to result in further upside."

"The Company is encouraged by recent reports from a variety of sources, including political spokespersons, regarding the close and burgeoning ties between the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and Turkey, which the Company believes presents further transformational progress for the region. In this context, Gulf Keystone will play a major role as a co-host of the 2nd International Energy Arena Conference in Erbil on 30 May, a meeting place for key political and industry decision makers on the energy cooperation between the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and Turkey."

"I therefore strongly believe that there is considerable momentum in the development of Kurdistan's vast natural resources and Gulf Keystone is in a prime position to benefit as the region moves to this next stage."

"Our remarkable journey continues and I remain indebted to our hosts in the Kurdistan Regional Government and to the outstanding team within our Company. We have never been more excited about the future."

Highlights

Production & Development

Significant operational progress made in the last 3.5 years between the Shaikan-1 discovery in 2009 and the submission of the Shaikan Field Development Plan ("FDP") in early 2013, which is currently being reviewed by regulatory authorities
Two new production facilities at Shaikan (PF-1 & PF-2) nearing completion 2013 production capacity of 40,000 bopd, expected to increase to 150,000 bopd in 2015

Infrastructure

Gulf Keystone's ramp up in production fully aligned with the region's ongoing infrastructure development.
Alternative transport options exist for Gulf Keystone's crude whilst the Shaikan pipeline is constructed, including the ability to truck and accessing growing pipeline infrastructure, including a planned oil pipeline with initial capacity of 300,000 bopd to the Fishkabur pump station on the border with Turkey expected to complete in 2013

Exploration & Appraisal

Extensive drilling campaign continues with the Company's 18th and 19th wells: Shaikan-7 deep exploration well & Shaikan-10 development well to spud in Q2 2013
Following recent success of the Sheikh Adi-2 well, appraisal drilling is planned for the 1.9 billion barrel Sheikh Adi field (independently audited P50 gross oil-in place estimate), as well as further exploration work on the block
Extensive exploration and appraisal programme is ongoing on the Akri-Bijeel block with two discoveries, Bijell-1 and Bakrman-1, made to date

Financial

Fully funded for the 2013 work programme and aiming to achieve additional revenues through significant production growth

Corporate

The Company will play a major role at the 2nd International Energy Arena Conference co-hosted by The Strategic Technical Economic Research Center (STEAM) and Gulf Keystone. Todd Kozel will participate in the Mapping the Future session led by the Minister of Natural Resources of KRG, H.E Dr. Ashti Hawrami and the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of Turkey, H.E Taner Yildiz. The Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, H.E Nechirvan Barzani, will also be in attendance. The conference will be held in Erbil on 30 May 2013.

Operational Update

Shaikan Field Development Plan

On 27 January 2013, Gulf Keystone, as operator, submitted a Field Development Plan ("FDP") to the Shaikan Block Management Committee. The Company is in constructive talks with the appropriate regulatory authorities concerning their feedback on the proposed way forward for the development of the Shaikan field, which was declared a major commercial discovery in August 2012.

Shaikan PF-1 and PF-2

Following approval of the Shaikan FDP, Gulf Keystone will be ready to step up its production operations through the commissioning of two new production facilities at Shaikan ("PF-1 and PF-2"). The Company is planning to complete mechanical assembly and connection works on the Shaikan PF-1 by the end of Q2 2013, which will be followed by a period of start-up, commissioning and ramping-up of production to a target of 20,000 bopd, increasing to a capacity of 40,000 bopd in the coming months following the commissioning of the Shaikan PF-2.

Delivery of equipment modules for the Shaikan PF-2 is progressing and the construction of the Shaikan PF-2 site has been completed. The assembly works will commence following the completion of the Shaikan PF-1.

Shaikan-7 and Shaikan-10

The Company plans to spud Shaikan-7, the first deep exploration well, targeting the mid to lower Triassic and, potentially, Permian horizons, and Shaikan-10, the first development well, in May and June 2013 respectively.

Akri-Bijeel Block

Extensive exploration and appraisal programme is ongoing on the Akri-Bijeel block. The Bakrman-1 exploration well testing programme is nearing completion and the Bijell-2 and Bijell-7 wells are being drilled to appraise further the Bijell discovery. The construction of an Extended Well Test facility for the Bijell discovery is nearing completion.

Ber Bahr Block

Re-testing of the Ber Bahr-1 exploration well continues.

Sheikh Adi Appraisal Programme

After making a Jurassic discovery with the Sheikh Adi-2 exploration well in November 2012, the Company and the Kurdistan Regional Government, its partner in the block unanimously agreed to move to an appraisal programme to appraise Jurassic targets and evaluate the Triassic upside at the 3,500 metres projected depth with the Sheikh Adi-3 appraisal well. Furthermore, we plan to target two additional exploration leads, comprising potential extensions of the Atrush and Swara Tika discoveries, following acquisition of 70 km of additional 2D seismic data. The Company is enthusiastic about the forthcoming appraisal and additional exploration work as it is the Company's belief that the Shaikan field shows signs of a significant extension into the Sheikh Adi block.

Full Year Results, Investor Day & AGM

The Company will announce full year results for the period ended 31 December 2012 on Thursday, 20 June 2013. The Company will hold an Investor Day on Thursday, 4 July 2013 in London. The Company's Annual General Meeting is to be held on Thursday, 25 July 2013 in Bermuda.

http://www.oilvoice.com/n/Gulf_Keystone ... 905f9.aspx

[Anthea]

Oil Voice

Despite its well documented problems, Iraq remains a global oil heavyweight. The Middle Eastern nation was one of the OPEC (Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) founding nations and to this day continues to be the international group's second largest producer. With the world's fourth largest supply of proven oil reserves (after Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Iran) and the tenth largest supply of proven gas reserves, Iraq is well positioned to continue playing a major role in shaping the world oil landscape for years to come.

Despite its already lofty status, Iraq remains a potential growth story too. For the 2012 full-year the US's Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported an increase in proven reserves to 144.0 billion barrels (bbl), up from 143.1 billion bbl a year earlier. As more major projects are proved-up, this figure should increase in the near term. Going forward, this should encourage a continued increase in production levels, which would see the number of proven reserves head south once more over the medium-to-long term. At present, the majority of production comes from just three giant fields: the North Rumaila field in southern Iraq, the South Rumaila field, and Kirkuk, which is in the North.

In terms of crude oil production levels, things in Iraq remain short of former glories. While generally improving, ambitious production targets are often being missed due to infrastructure constraints and political disputes. In 2012, production averaged 3 million barrels per day (bbl/d), surpassing fellow OPEC member state Iraq's output. Government advisor Thamir Ghadhban stated in March 2013, however, that Iraq's oil exports, including those from its semi-autonomous Kurdish region, will average just 2.9 million bbl/d this year and that next year's target of 4.5 million bbl/d is unlikely to be reached either. On the back of this, the Iraqi government plans to announce revised production targets in April 2013. So for now, the 1979 output record of 3.5 million bbl/d set back in 1979 remains firmly intact.

More broadly speaking, this year's projected slump in output should prove to be just one stumbling block on the road to production growth. Indeed, Iraq has already embarked upon an ambitious spending programme to develop and produce its crude oil reserves. In this vein, the Middle Eastern nation plans to spend as much as US$275 billion by 2030. With the aid of overseas investors, Iraq is hoping to undue the damage done to production levels over the last decade or more by the political instability resulting from war and sanctions under Saddam Hussein, who was overthrown by a US-led invasion in 2003.

To facilitate this process, Baghdad is pushing a policy objective known as the Hydrocarbon Law. If passed, it would provide a new legal framework for overseas investment into the hydrocarbons sector in Iraq. But the absence of such a framework has not stopped international oil companies from getting involved previously. Indeed, the Ministry of Oil inked a series of long-term contracts between 2008 and 2010 with a string of overseas majors, which included production at oil fields with proven reserves totalling over 60 billion barrels. If these fields are developed in full as is planned, they would theoretically increase total Iraqi production capacity to almost 12 million bbl/d, or about 9 million bbl/d above 2012 production levels.

At the time of their signing, the contracts called for Iraq to reach this production target by the end of 2017. However, these deals are currently being re-negotiated to more modest levels by the Iraqi Oil Ministry to around the 9.5 million bbl/d level. But not everyone is so optimistic: more conservative estimates across the oil industry have put the likely output figure by that date at closer to 6 million bbl/d.

Of course, a ramp up in oil production does not come cheap; rather it requires a serious amount of investment. Data from the World Energy Outlook shows that for the country to reach its 2017 production goal of 12 million bbl/d it would require at least US$530bn in energy investment (almost double what the nation plans to spend towards the same end through to 2030). What is more, the investment is required across the board to develop both new and existing oil fields, pipelines, ports, storage facilities, and the transportation network that runs through the country.

To be sure, it is one thing for Iraq to set such optimistic production targets and another to actually realise them. In the aftermath of conflict, the country faces a plethora of hurdles in overcoming delays in developing its energy infrastructure. It certainly cannot afford to go it alone in this regard; big investment from outside is required too. Given Iraq's potential, some investors will not be deterred by the unfavourable business environment created by political stability and safety concerns. Others will be, however. Ultimately this means that delays in investment by international oil firms under the proposed production agreements together with ongoing OPEC membership issues could result in the recovery in output activity proving to be slower than originally expected.

Closer to home, there is always the looming threat that any attacks by terrorist groups could disrupt oil flows and deter new investment too. In addition, Iraq is far from being a country united on its energy policy. Relations between the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region of northern Iraq (KRG) and Baghdad are strained. The main point of contention between the two centres on ownership of the northern oil fields, with both the central government in the capital and the provisional KRG government claiming the rights to them. In terms of the investment required for Iraq to develop its energy infrastructure this serves as a major deterrent for overseas players. Indeed, Baghdad has declared all contracts signed with the Kurds by overseas firms as illegal. But that is not all. Oil firms investing in Kurdistan are also prohibited from participating in operations in the South. Examples of such overseas firms to be targeted by Baghdad of illegal activity in this vein include ExxonMobil, US major Chevron, because of its stake in Kurdish oil fields, and France's Total.

The revenue-sharing agreement which has tentatively existed between central and provincial governments has only served to heighten tensions further still. Under the current deal, more than 80% of the revenue from Iraq's international oil sales goes to Baghdad, while just 17% heads north to the Kurds. Adding insult to injury for the KRG region, all of Iraq's oil exports go through a pipeline controlled by the federal government, with Baghdad inevitably collecting the revenues for distribution. And given that oil exports make up more than 95% of Iraq's budget revenues, control over the revenues from this pipeline are all important. Not all is lost for the Kurds, however. If a much-talked-about pipeline ever came to fruition in the North it would allow Kurdistan's oil to be exported directly into Turkey - bypassing the Baghdad-controlled route in the process - and the playing field would be leveled. As things stand, such a pipeline has yet to progress beyond the planning stage. If it ever did come to fruition, however, the political ramifications in the region would far outweigh the current row between northern and southern Iraq. But for now, the simmering distrust between the two sides continues.

In terms of recent events in the Kurdistan-Baghdad dispute, things really came to a head last December when the KRG suspended crude oil exports through the country's main pipeline. The move came out of protest against the lack of sharing of oil export revenues collected by Baghdad, owed to firms operating in Kurdistan. There was also a separate dispute over production back in November, when the Kurds were unable to reach the export level of 250,000 bbl/d, as agreed with the capital. More recently in April, Kurdistan went behind Baghdad's back to sell its first cargo of crude oil on the international market. Although it was only a small event on a quantitative level (around US$22 million in value), it was a move which was bound to spark a strong reaction from the central government. Given the success of the first sale of crude from the Taq Taq oil field (operated by UK-based genel Energy), which was transported by road into neighbouring Turkey and sold via tender, the potential for further deals against the wishes of Baghdad is building. The buyer of the initial batch under barter of 30,000 tonnes was Germany-based Select Energy.

In sum, Iraq is an oil-based economy with plenty of potential. Its position as a key player on the global oil landscape is dependent upon overcoming a number of hurdles that have weighed on exploration, production, and revenues over recent years. Closer to home such headwinds have slowed down the country's reconstruction too.

http://www.oilvoice.com/n/Insight_Iraq_ ... d2b6f.aspx

[Anthea]

Firat News

According to Salih Muslim, PYD (the main Kurdish party in Syria) co-chair, 60% of oil is controlled by Kurds. "We protect the oil wells," he said, before pointing out that the Kurdish rewrite their history in the Middle East.

"The Kurdish people are re-writing their history. We are rebuilding a poorly written history. Today, Kurds are settling accounts with history", he said to ActuKurde.
Relying on a draft democratic autonomy, developed by Kurdish imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan, the Syrian Kurds are now a major force for the future of Syria. The Kurds are maintaining their neutrality, despite pressure from international and regional forces.

"Our position has not changed. - said Muslim - We protect our people. Sometimes we are facing regime forces, sometimes armed groups". Muslim added that Kurds are waiting for the coalition of the Syrian opposition to clarify its position on the Kurds and the future of Syria.

The process of democratic self-government is on track for several years, but the revolt launched in March 2011 has accelerated the implementation of this project. Before being forced to withdraw from the Kurdish cities, the Syrian regime was very weak against the parallel structures put in place by the Kurds, as people's councils, committees, an alternative army and a police force.

Since 19 July 2012, the Kurds took control of nine cities in the region: Kobani, Afrin, Dirbêsiyé, Amude, Derik and Girkê Lêgué, as well as of these three cities Tel Temir Tirbespiyé and Rimêlan, where Kurdish, Arab and Christian communities shared their life. For the Kurdish city Serêkaniyê (Rass al-Ain), on the border with Turkey, an agreement on the cessation of hostilities between the Kurds and the Free Syrian Army (SLA) was concluded on 17 February 2013. The only Kurdish city where regime forces are still present is Qamishlo, but this city is governed by a board of people, installed by the Kurds. There are also Kurdish villages in the great city of Hasakah, where Kurds want to create a board that would represent all the communities living in this region, in order to force the regime to withdraw.

The Kurds have also taken control of the oil wells in the region. Rmaylan, Til Kojer and Jibis are the three areas that are home to major oil fields. "The regions that produce 60% of the oil in Syria are under the control of People's Defence Units (YPG, Kurdish army)", said the PYD co-chair. "Oil production is stopped, but the wells are under the protection of YPG" he added.

The Kurdish region is rich in water, oil and gas. Oil wells and gas are concentrated in the region of Jazeera. But the Kurds still can not take advantage of these resources because of the discriminatory policy of the Baath regime for decades. All the riches of the Kurdish region with agricultural wealth were transferred to cities like Damascus and Aleppo. The region also lacks factories, refineries and universities, which pushed the Kurds to mass immigration in the context of the "Arab belt" implementation policy in 1962 to expel the entire Kurdish population from the region of Jazeera (Cizre in Kurdish) along the Turkish border and replace them with Arabs.

Other oil areas are to be found in the region of Deir ez-Zor, controlled by armed groups. New oil wells in the region have recently been burned, according to the Kurdish leader Salih Muslim. "The regime does not control oil zone, but there is not production," he added.

"All we want is to live in freedom, peace and dignity on our land," Muslim said before adding: "There is a power struggle in Syria for 26 months. We have adopted a different strategy. We knew from the beginning that the Syrian revolution will not be like that of Tunisia and Egypt. Opponents of the regime had bet on the fall of the regime within six months. More than two years have passed and who knows how long it will last yet. This 26 months of war - he concluded - showed that the military solution will lead nowhere. And history has also shown that stability in the Middle East depends on stability in Syria. Today we play the role of bridge to preserve the brotherhood between Arabs and Kurds. We will continue to play this historic role."

http://en.firatnews.com/news/news/musli ... -kurds.htm

[Anthea]

I am delighted to know that the Kurds of West Kurdistan are sitting on so much wealth, and I hope that they gain full control over minerals on and under Kurdish land

[Anthea]

Oil Voice

WesternZagros starts Garmian drilling program and provides Kurdamir-3 update

WesternZagros Resources Ltd. (TSX VENTURE:WZR) has started its latest Garmian Block drilling program in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The Mil Qasim Upper Bakhtiari-1 well was spudded on May 19, 2013. This is the first of a planned three-well program to test the potential of the shallow Upper Bakhtiari Formation. With the two deeper Hasira-1 and Baram-1 well included, this is also the first of the Company's five well Garmian drilling program planned for 2013.

Simon Hatfield, CEO of WesternZagros commented:

"Spudding this well is a key step in testing the Upper Bakhtiari Formation, a new reservoir which exhibited oil shows when we drilled the Mil Qasim-1 well in 2011/2012. Subsequent review of logs and seismic data identified a relatively shallow, low-cost prospect. We are also on track with our higher impact Garmian wells: at Hasira-1 the rig is being assembled for spudding in the next few weeks; and at Baram-1 the site construction is advancing and the rig is being transported for a mid-third quarter spud. Also, at Kurdamir-3 we are making good drilling progress. With four active rigs, 2013 promises to be the busiest year in our history to date."

http://www.oilvoice.com/n/WesternZagros ... a1ef4.aspx

[Anthea]

Original article posted in wrong place by Aslan
viewtopic.php?f=28&t=12654

Iraq vows action against Kurdistan crude sales

Author: Aslan » Fri May 24, 2013 7:55 pm

SYDNEY: Iraq has vowed to take legal action against companies to halt Kurdistan's crude oil sales to Turkey.

"Any oil that is taken out of the country and payments not made to the Iraqi people through the central government is considered to be taking Iraq's national wealth," said Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Hussain Al-Shahristani.

"There are a number of means the Iraqi government is considering, and any responsible government would have the same priority to protect the wealth of the people," said the deputy prime minister, who is also an adviser to the prime minister on energy matters and was attending a conference.

Crude exports from the Taq Taq oil field in the autonomous northern region of Kurdistan to Turkey's Mersin port started at a trickle in early January and have risen to just over 40,000 barrels per day (bpd).
They are expected to hit around 60,000 bpd by the end of June as trucks unload at the neighboring Dortyol terminal in southern Turkey.

Oil lies at the heart of a feud between the central government and Kurdistan. Baghdad says it alone has the right to control exports and sign deals, while the Kurds say their right to do so is enshrined in Iraq's federal constitution.

In retaliation, Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organisation (SOMO) sent letters warning customers not to touch any oil that had not been marketed by SOMO and the ministry intends to sue producers, namely Anglo-Turkish firm Genel Energy.

Turkish intermediary Powertrans has found a steady stream of customers in Northwest Europe for its crude and condensate sales. Major oil firms with interests in southern Iraq have opted not to participate in tenders.

Germany's Select Energy lifted the first two Taq Taq cargoes in April. The grade is a light sour crude, a highly sought after quality.

Select is loading a third larger 80,000 ton cargo.

Austria's OMV, already black-listed by Baghdad due to upstream stakes in Kurdistan, also bought one cargo in May, sources said.

Iraq's central government says Kurdistan is expected to provide 250,000 bpd towards Iraq's 2013 oil export target of 2.9 million bpd.

_______________________________________________________________________________________


Aughhhh arabs r so annoying -.- even their threats cant be taken seriously lol

[Anthea]

Oil Voice

Oil Search provide Taza 1 ST2 well update

Oil Search reports that as at 06:00 hours KRI time on 23 May, the Taza 1 ST2 well was at a depth of 3,351 metres and undertaking a well test on the open hole section, which includes the Euphrates Formation.

The initial results of the test, which has included acid stimulation, indicate a significant improvement in flow rates to those seen in the previous test.

Flow rates of up to 4,000 barrels of fluid per day have been achieved, with up to 1,100 barrels of oil per day.

The forward plan is to continue with this drill stem test to fully evaluate the potential of the reservoir.

The participants in Taza 1 are:

Oil Search (Iraq) Limited * - 60%
Total E&P Kurdistan Region of Iraq (Taza) B.V. - 20%
Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) - 20%
Total - 100%

* Oil Search's funding interest is 75%, with the KRG carried by Oil Search and Total E&P Kurdistan Region of Iraq (Taza) B.V.

http://www.oilvoice.com/n/Oil_Search_pr ... 32682.aspx

[Anthea]

Kurdish Globe

Yea, No final agreement was reached to resume oil exports from the Kurdistan region yet, but I believe that the Kurds are very close to resolving this problem very soon."

In recent years, the Kurds have antagonized Iraq's Shi'ite led central government by signing deals on their own terms with international oil companies including Exxon Mobil, Total and Chevron Corp.

Baghdad saying it alone has the right to control exploration and export of the world's fourth largest oil reserves, while the Kurds insist their right to do so is enshrined in Iraq's federal constitution, drawn up following the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

The Iraqi government and the Kurdish Government, have reached a provisional, seven-point agreement that includes revisiting a stalled federal hydrocarbon law and an amended 2013 budget, a development that that might result in the resumption of Kurdish oil exports if concluded.

In response to Iraq's troubling , Washington should pressure Baghdad to leave the KRG's monthly funding intact and increase the allocation for oil cost recovery.

The discussions resulted in agreement by the KRG to end a boycott of parliament by Kurdish deputies who withdrew in March over the contentious budget they said did not contain a provision for adequate payments to the KRG for oil debt.

The KRG halted oil exports through the federal pipeline system in January because of the row with Baghdad over payment to foreign contractors operating in the Kurdish province.

Turkey has two main options for developing its energy relationship with the Iraqi Kurds this year. First, the Turkish Petroleum International Company (TPIC) could invest in the KRG's upstream oil sector in the same way that ExxonMobil, Chevron, Total, and scores of other firms have done.

This option, which has firm support throughout the Turkish government, is more of a "tactical" approach -- that is, Turkish firms may seek profitable investments in northern Iraq, but Ankara would stop short of leveraging Turkey's geographic position as a potential export route for KRG hydrocarbons.

Since 2003, the stronger economy of Iraqi Kurdistan has attracted around 20,000 workers from other parts of Iraq.

Alternatively, Ankara could agree to a game-changing "strategic" energy compact with the KRG, with Turkey receiving high-volume Kurdish oil and/or gas exports independently of Baghdad. In that scenario, new pipelines would need to be built within Turkey and the KRG. Likewise, novel and legally untested marketing and financial arrangements would be required to monetize the resources, since the arrangements normally proffered by the State Oil Marketing Organization of Iraq would not apply if Baghdad were circumvented.
Now it?s obvious that the Arab Peoples in Middle East Countries , are unable to reach their (spring) and I believe that it was a wrong description of the political Changing and civil war that have followed the Arab revolutions .

And I believe that the Kurdistan its one nation in the Middle East, it?s beginning to look like freedom and prosperity just might be blooming. ?People are beginning to talk about the shine Future, not the Arab Spring,?

where Our country stands after the U.S. invasion 2003.? From Iraqi Kurdistan, the U.S. war looks like an extraordinary success.
Kurdistan is a democracy, though an imperfect one; the territory is peaceful and the economy is booming , Foreign investors are pouring though gleaming new airports to invest, especially in Kurdish Oil fields. Exxon, Chevron, Gazprom and Total are among the multinationals to sign deals with the regional government. A new pipeline from Kurdistan to Turkey could allow exports to soar to 1 million barrels a day within a couple of years.

http://www.kurdishglobe.net/display-art ... 5AD46F880C

[Aslan]

New oil discovery confirmed in northern Iraq

ANKARA, Turkey, May 30 (UPI) -- Drilling operations in the semiautonomous Kurdish region of Iraq confirmed the presence of a commercial oil discovery, companies announced.

Operator Genel Energy announced expanded drilling operations at the Ber Bahr-1 exploration well in the Kurdish north confirmed the commercial oil discovery.

Genel Energy, which has headquarters in England and Turkey, and Gulf Keystone each have a 40 percent stake in the Ber Bahr block. The semiautonomous Kurdistan Regional Government holds the remaining 20 percent in a production-sharing contract.

"This is another significant discovery and the fifth across the four blocks the company has an interest in," Gulf Keystone Chief Operating Officer John Gerstenlauer said in a statement.

The exploration well was tapped last year, encountering a 980-foot column of oil but failed to yield any flow rates during initial testing. Recent operations produced around 2,000 barrels of oil per day, the companies said.

"The Ber Bahr well adds a further commercial oil discovery to Genel's already significant ... resource base," Genel Energy Exploration Director John Hurst said in a statement. "We plan to begin a phased development of the field in the second half of this year."

Oil in the Kurdish north is a source of contention between the semiautonomous government and the central government in Baghdad, which says some operations there are illegal.

[Anthea]

Platts: The Barrel

Kurdistan’s export strategy: an oil-filled natural gas pipeline

Question: When is a gas pipeline not a gas pipeline? Answer: when it’s carrying oil.

This is a Q & A of particular relevance to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, where ongoing tensions with the Federal Government of Iraq and a rapidly changing hydrocarbons investment profile are prompting innovative approaches to getting stranded hydrocarbons to market.

The line in question was originally intended to carry gas from near Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan region, to a new power station serving the northern city of Dohuk. As recently as December 2012, Kurdish regional government officials were asserting that the line would be ready for use in February or March, making Dohuk the third Kurdish power station to receive gas from the Khor Mor gas field in southern Kurdistan.

Just a few months on and the line is undergoing testing, but for oil, not gas. And, what’s more, it’s part of a system that is quite definitely aimed at providing the Kurdish region of Iraq with a way of exporting oil to Turkey that is not reliant on lines primarily serving output from Federal Iraq.

The line has an interesting history. After the Danagas/Crescent group completed construction of its initial 180-km gas pipeline from the Khor Mor gasfield to Erbil in 2009, there were persistent reports of Kurdish plans to extend the line to supply gas to the power station at Dohuk, which currently runs on oil.

But while Dohuk was reckoned to need just 100 mcf/d of gas, for most of its length the line was to be built with the ability to carry at least 400 mcf/d, with some suggesting it could carry as much as 600 mcf/d. It was generally assumed that the extra capacity was intended to supply gas to Turkey, most likely to provide fuel for a power station just across the border at Silopi, which would then supply power to Mosul and other northern cities governed by the Federal Iraqi Government in Baghdad.

Now the line is being tested with a view to checking that it possesses a capacity to carry as much as 300,000 b/d of crude.

It’s not a long line. It runs for just under 100 km from the Greater Zab River to Dohuk, but it is hugely significant. First, at the southern end it plugs into the Khurmala Dome. This is one of the three key elements of the supergiant Kirkuk oilfield complex and the only one that falls within the boundaries administered by the Kurdistan Regional Government. Secondly, Khurmala is becoming the gathering center for a cluster of other oilfields currently under development, notably Genel Enerji’s Taq Taq field.

Thirdly, at its northern end, pipe is already being laid for a 50-km extension from Dohuk to Fish Khabur on the border with Turkey. This line should be ready for testing in September.

At Fish Khabur, however, there is a problem. It’s essentially political rather than technical. Fish Khabur constitutes the last point on the main Kirkuk-Ceyhan system that carries oil produced at Iraq’s northern oilfields, notably Kirkuk itself, on behalf of the Federal Iraqi authorities. For the last ten or so kilometers, the line runs across terrain administered by the KRG, and in that small stretch of line there is an input connection from the Tawke field, operated by Norway’s DNO under a production sharing agreement with the KRG.

But would any new pipeline coming up from Khurmala copy DNO in plugging its throughput into Kirkuk-Ceyhan at a point in a system still operated on behalf of the Federal authorities? Or would it continue a few extra kilometers across the border into Turkey?

The KRG authorities are keeping very, very quiet on this. In essence, so long as they plug it into Kirkuk-Ceyhan on the Iraqi side of the border, they can argue that they are acting within what they consider to be their rights as an autonomous authority operating within a Federal structure.

But Baghdad does not share this view. It considers that the KRG’s award of a host of PSAs to international companies is unconstitutional. And in the absence of any settlement to this dispute, Baghdad has opted to halt reimbursements to companies that have invested in the KRG region. That has prompted the KRG to order to clampdown on exports from the KRG area, since export revenues go direct to Baghdad, albeit with 17% of them subsequently supposed to be returned to the KRG.

The ongoing dispute means that there have been no pipeline exports from Kurdistan-Iraq, as the KRG terms the territory it administers, since late December. Instead, companies operating in the KRG area have resorted to trucking their oil to Turkey, just as Saddam Hussein’s Iraq did more than 20 years ago in the wake of UN sanctions imposed on Iraq for invading Kuwait. From Taq Taq, Genel Enerji in May was trucking around 40,000 b/d directly to Turkey in contrast to pre-cutoff exports of around 55,000 b/d achieved by trucking export-oriented crude to the Khurmala connection with the Kirkuk-Ceyhan system.

So plugging the new line into Kirkuk-Ceyhan on the Iraqi side of the border either requires Federal Iraqi approval or, in its absence, would constitute a declaration that the KRG considered it had a legal right, as well the practical authority, to control this short section of the Kirkuk-Ceyhan line. That would not go down well in Baghdad.

So will the KRG authorities opt to extend their line across the border into Turkey? This really would be entering new territory. Building a cross-border link–no matter how small, no matter how short–without the formal authority of the Federal Government would likewise pose a challenge that Baghdad could not ignore without losing an awful lot of face.

The KRG’s hope is that Turkey will not only approve any new cross-border pipeline connections but provide the political support necessary to challenge Baghdad on such an issue. But even before domestic issues rose to the top of the Erdogan premiership’s agenda, the KRG pipeline issue, which loomed very large just a few months ago, slipped down the rankings. It was scarcely mentioned when Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Washington in May, although before the visit Turkish sources in Ankara and Istanbul thought that he would be asking President Obama for US support for direct KRG-Turkey pipeline connections.

Now, at least in terms of the Turkey-US diplomatic dialogue, the issue is on the back burner, supplanted first by Syria and now by the Istanbul street protests against Erdogan’s increasingly personal style of government. So, for the time being at least, the KRG authorities have to confront the dilemma of what to do with a nearly completed pipeline — quite literally, of how to terminate a nearly-completed pipeline — on their own.

Meanwhile, for the producers in Kurdistan, they must cope with the other half of the equation: how to ensure a return not only on stranded resources but on stranded production. They have already made the investments required to increase production considerably, including the provision of a direct 78-km, 200,000 b/d line from Taq Taq to Khurmala (to obviate the need for internal trucking), and now want to see a return on their investment. And, of course, they cannot afford to see their new facilities operate at reduced capacity indefinitely.

In the next two-to-three years, the KRG hopes that the producers with whom it has signed PSAs will be able to export no less than one million barrels a day as well as providing oil for domestic refineries and outlying power plants. By 2015-16 – they used to say “in 2014” –- the Kurdish authorities consider that the addition of a new pumping station at Khurmala plus upgrading of facilities in Tawke and input from a cluster of other producers could well deliver the KRG’s vaunted goal of a one million barrel-a-day export system.

The KRG authorities specifically hope that the new 78-km line from Taq Taq to Khurmala can secure a capacity increase to 400,000 b/d so that it can serve other fields, including Bina Bawi, where Genel is operator, and Safeen, in which Total has a stake. They also anticipate that by 2015-16 they will also have built a second feeder to Khurmala, capable of carrying up to 500,000 b/d from major new discoveries at Kurdamir and Garmian in south-eastern Kurdistan-Iraq and which would also serve oil produced at such fields as Khor Mor, Topkhana and Miran. This means, of course, that from Khurmala to Fish Khabur, the system currently being tested to carry some 300,000 b/d would have to be expanded to carry at least 900,000 b/d.

And there are other fields which will also have to be plugged in to whatever system finally emerges. The most important of these is Shaikan, where Gulf Keystone is operator, and, with at least 12.4 billion barrels of oil-in-place, is the biggest field to be found in Kurdistan-Iraq since its emergence as an autonomous territory. Gulf Keystone has been targeting 2015 for the production of around 150,000 b/d with hopes that it can subsequently take output to as much as 400,000 b/d.

But Shaikan produces heavy crude, so Gulf Keystone has looked at longer-term development of a dedicated pipeline to carry its output direct to Ceyhan by a wholly new system. But in the near term it has also been considering adding some Shaikan output into a blend with lighter crudes, to be carried to market via whatever new export arrangements are installed at Fish Khabur.

Oh yes, and there’s one final role that Shaikan can play. The field is located near Dohuk and possesses a fair amount of associated gas. It would be quite a simple matter to hook it up to the Dohuk power station and thus ensure that the original raison d’être for Kurdistan’s controversial new pipeline actually secured its fuel of choice

http://blogs.platts.com/2013/06/05/kurd-line/

[Anthea]

First posted by Aslan:

viewtopic.php?f=28&t=12781

Iraqi Kurdistan Expects Oil Production at 1m barrels by 2015

Unread postAuthor: Aslan » Thu Jun 06, 2013 6:10 pm
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iraq’s Kurdistan Region expects to produce one million barrels of oil per day (bpd) by 2015, an ambitious fivefold increase over current output, the autonomous northern enclave’s natural resources minister says in a report.

“One million barrels per day by 2015 is achievable with the existing discoveries,” Ashti Hawrami predicts in a report released this week by Invest Group LLC.

Current production of about 200,000 bpd is set to rise to 250,000 barrels by the end of 2013, with hopes of raising it to one million bpd by 2015. And by 2019, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) expects exports of two million bpd.

“The expectation is that by 2019, the region could be exporting around two million bpd, with a further one million bpd going into the northern pipelines from fields in other areas of the north of Iraq,” Hawrami says in the report.

“So the northern route through the Kurdistan Region to the market for oil and gas will play a vital part in Iraq’s future economic prosperity,” Hawrami adds.

In order to achieve this goal the Kurdish government has already signed a deal with Turkey to transport 420,000 bpd of crude oil, and the pipeline to do so has an estimated completion date of mid-2014, according to the report.

In order to ship the fuel to Turkey the completion of the Kurdistan Iraq Crude Export pipeline is set for the end of 2013.

The pipeline will go from Taq Taq to Khurmala, then from Khurmala to Fish Kabur, according to the Kurdistan Ministry of Natural Resources, which Hawrami heads.

By the end of 2013, Kurdistan will have invested between $15 billion to $20 billion in oil and gas fields. It has 14 upstream projects, 45 billion barrels in oil reserves and 57 discovered oil and gas fields.

[Anthea]

First posted by Aslan:

viewtopic.php?f=28&t=12778

Kirkuk Officials Feel Cheated on Oil Revenues

Unread postAuthor: Aslan » Thu Jun 06, 2013 3:37 pm
KIRKUK, Kurdistan Region – Officials in the oil-rich city of Kirkuk complain that even though a large share of Iraq’s oil is extracted from fields in their province, the government in Baghdad does not return their fair share of revenues, to develop public services.

“This problem has been discussed with the Iraqi finance ministry but unfortunately it has all been fruitless so far,” Ahmad Askari, an official in Kirkuk’s Public Projects Committee, told Rudaw.

Local authorities in Kirkuk say that in the first quarter of this year more than 35 million barrels of oil have been taken from the province’s oilfields, and that the provincial council was expected to receive $37 million as its share of oil money.

But Baghdad has allocated only $43 million for this entire year, says Askari.

Article 94 of Iraq’s law of 2004, drafted under the American civil administrator Paul Bremer, stipulates that each province is entitled to a fair amount of Iraq’s oil money on an annual basis.

Diler Qadir, a member of Iraq’s parliamentary financial committee, believes that this budget can change from one year to the next. Qadir says that Kirkuk has always received its due amount of money from Baghdad.

“The difference in the budget allocation from one year to another depends on the amount of oil revenue,” he says.

Qadir adds that insurgent attacks on pipelines, which happen from time to time, decrease the country’s oil exports dramatically.

Iraq’s deputy finance minister Fazil Nabi defends his ministry’s budget planning, saying, “Our current economic system is flawless. So far, the petrodollar budget of all provinces, including Kirkuk, is fully paid.”

Najat Hussein, a member of the Kirkuk Oil & Gas Committee, suggests that the central government should pay Kirkuk’s oil share on a monthly basis.

“Oil export from Kirkuk is more than 800,000 barrels a day,” he said. “If we get our money every month, we can have more than $290 million a year.”

Shalaw Muhammed, a journalist based in Kirkuk, says his province’s frustration over the oil money is rooted in the lack of transparency in Iraq’s oil revenue.

“Also, the governor of Kirkuk has merged the province’s three different budgets into one general budget, which makes it hard to assess each budget separately,” he says.