Gazprom to resume oil production in Kurdistan

GARMIAN, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – Final preparations are underway for Russian oil giant Gazprom Neft to resume oil production in Garmain block, Sulaimani province.

Zhilwam Adil, mayor of the Sarqala sub-district, told a Kurdistan24 reporter, “Now that the Western Zagros company has left our area, and based on a new contract, the operatorship has been transferred...to Gazprom Neft.”

“The daily output of the [Gazprom run] Sarqala oilfield is 5,000 barrels per day, but the production has been halted for one month,” Adil added.

According to Adil, the operatorship of the Sarqala oilfield justified the production halt due to low oil prices, but production is expected to resume in the next few days.

In late 2015, Western Zagros CEO Simon Hatfield stated, “We are now ready to transfer operatorship to Gazprom Neft according to the original 2012 agreement.”

“Now it is time to turn development operations over to a world-class operator with extensive technical, operational and regional expertise in crude oil production, refining and marketing. Gazprom Neft is a $10 billion company that shares our vision of the Garmian Block’s potential,” Hatfield added.

According to an economic expert, the drop in oil prices has affected all aspects of people’s life, as the Kurdistan Region gains 95 percent of its revenue from oil. 

There are 57 blocks of oil in the Kurdistan Region; 10 of the blocks are located in Garmian area in Sulaimani province in which five of them are currently active.

Gazprom Neft Group consists of more than 70 production, refining and sales subsidiaries in Russia.

Reporting by Baxtiyar Goran and Harem Jaff
Editing by Karzan Sulaivany and Ava Homa