Gulf Keystone Petroleum has restarted its 55,000 barrel per day investment programme, with MOL, in Kurdistan.
The company had expected to reach this level of output in the third quarter of 2020. It opted to delay the work, in March 2020.
Speaking at the time, Gulf Keystone’s then CEO Jon Ferrier highlighted the challenges to the industry and the importance of prudence. “Flexibility is the order of the day and as such, beyond our existing commitments, we have suspended further expansion activity until conditions improve,” he said in late March of last year.
A new CEO, higher oil prices and new optimism around the pandemic has seen the company return to these plans.
Gulf Keystone’s new CEO Jon Harris said the last 12 months had focused on managing the impact of COVID-19 and production at Shaikan.
Now, though, “we are pleased to announce that we are resuming the 55,000 bopd expansion programme. Workstreams have already begun, and we are targeting to restart the drilling of SH-13 in the third quarter of 2021, subject to managing the continuing impact of COVID-19 on the movement of people, services and equipment.”
Drilling will begin in the third quarter, the company said. The work will involve completing the SH-13 well, which it suspended in 2020.
Gulf Keystone will also drill the last well in the programme and install electric submersible pumps in two existing wells.
The company still expects to average 40,000-44,000 bpd of gross production this year. The step up to 55,000 bpd is expected to come in the first quarter of 2022.
The work will cost $40-45 million to Gulf Keystone, with total capex in 2021 of $55-65mn.