Economy

Dana Gas now producing 70,000 barrels of oil per day in Kurdistan

The Middle East's largest regional private sector natural gas company has announced that, as a result of a previous ramp-up of production in the Kurdistan Region, it reached 70,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) in late November.

John J. Catherine 2018/12/15 09:43

kurdistan Iraq Kurdistan Oil Gas

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Middle East's largest regional private sector natural gas company has announced that, as a result of a previous ramp-up of production in the Kurdistan Region, it reached 70,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) in late November and has either sustained or exceeded that amount since then.

"Production in excess of 70,000 barrels oil equivalent per day is a great achievement for Dana Gas," said Chief Executive Officer Patrick Allman-Ward in a statement released on Thursday.

"The increase in production will help offset the lower realised hydrocarbon prices that have impacted the oil industry in the last quarter and support growth in our revenue and net profit figures for the full year 2018 and beyond."

Dana Gas is an independent gas company headquartered in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates that has been active in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq since 2007 when it entered into agreements with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to develop its substantial gas resources.

In November, Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum announced a 30 percent gas production increase from the Kurdistan Region’s Khor Mor gas field, which both companies operate.

Located in Sulaimani Province’s Chamchamal district, the Khor Mor plant has been operational since 2008, supplying natural gas to a nearby power plant and another in Erbil.

"We remain excited about the long-term future of our world-class assets in the [Kurdistan Region]," the statement continued, adding that "further investment is underway to double current production."

The Kurdistan Region estimates that it has total recoverable reserves of at least 45 billion barrels of oil and 5.66 trillion cubic meters of gas.

On Dec. 7, major oil producers including the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Russia agreed to cut global oil production by 1.2 million bpd, causing an immediate boost in oil prices.

The decision came three days after Iraqi Oil Minister Thamer Ghadhban said that OPEC should devise a long-term strategy to stabilize the price of crude oil and reduce damage to oil markets affected by geopolitics.

Iraq, OPEC’s second-largest oil producer following Saudi Arabia, almost entirely relies on oil to generate its revenue. Over the past few years, the country, including the Kurdistan Region, has faced budget deficits due to the market’s unstable oil prices.