Crescent mulls expansion in Iraq, North Africa

Crescent Petroleum is seeking to expand its footprint in Iraq and North Africa, CEO Majid Jafar said on Monday.

The company aims to add upstream ventures to its current portfolio, which includes a presence in Iraq, Egypt and its home market, the UAE. The emphasis will be on undiscovered gas resources. “What we see in the region is [that] the potential is much higher than what we’ve achieved so far,” Jafar said.

Presently producing some 26,000 boepd from its assets in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Crescent Petroleum is also studying upstream holdings in southern Iraq.

In October 2016, the country’s Ministry Oil listed Crescent among the 19 pre-qualified companies to take part in its upcoming bidding round for several medium-sized and small oilfields, tentatively scheduled for the mid-2017.

In addition to its presence in Egypt, Crescent is also look for openings in other North African markets, “especially with the departure of many western international oil companies that don’t have the same risk appetite for the region as they previously did,” Jafar noted. “The discoveries and value-added additions [of today] are not coming from the majors,” he added.

Crescent Petroleum is a unit of the Crescent Group, which is the largest shareholder in Dana Gas. Crescent Petroleum and Dana Gas each hold a 35% stake in operations in the Kurdistan Region.

Dana Gas’ operations in Egypt cover five operated concession areas and a 50% non-operating stake in the BP-operated El Mataria/Block 3. Net production was most recently recorded at 40,000 boepd.