Independent oil and gas firm Gulf Keystone says it expects to produce up to 40,000 barrels per day after its development plan for the Shaikan field was approved.
The field, in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, will come on stream within the next few weeks with 20,000 barrels per day, with the company expecting to produce as much as 250,000 bopd within five years.
The field, discovered in 2009, has been at the centre of disputes after Iraq’s central government rejected contracts signed by the autonomous region as illegal and withheld payments to firms developing there.
Kurdistan says the right to strike deals with overseas companies was enshrined in the constitution drawn up after the 2003 ousting of Saddam Hussein, and have since passed their own oil and gas laws.
The Kurdistan region’s ministry of natural resources today approved Gulf Keystone’s plans for the project, allowing them to move ahead with production.
“This represents a key milestone in the Company’s growth,” said chairman and CEO Todd Kozel.
“We have been a pioneer in the region from the outset and this milestone reconfirms our pioneering spirit and our desire to lead the upstream oil industry in Kurdistan.
“The initial production capacity will start in the coming weeks, steadily increasing to 20,000 barrels oil per day (bopd) and then quickly progressing to 40,000 bopd on the completion of the second production facility. This will increase to 150,000 bopd within 3 years and 250,000 bopd by 2018.
“This is an enormous achievement by the GKP team who have worked so long and hard to achieve this goal and have forged such strong links within the Kurdistan Region, at all levels”
Production from the field will play a significant role in Kurdistan’s ambition of exporting 1million barrels per day by the end of 2015.
“Gulf Keystone has done outstanding work during the exploration phase, exceeding its minimum contractual requirements from two wells to seven wells, and making substantial progress in defining and delineating the Shaikan field,” said a ministry spokesman.
“The Ministry of Natural Resources looks forward to working with Gulf Keystone, and its partner in the block Kalegran, to continue to achieve Shaikan’s production targets.”
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