Gulf Keystone finds more oil at Shaikan

Kurdistan Region of Iraq

LONDON, October 2, 2015 – UK operator Gulf Keystone Petroleum has confirmed the presence of additional oil reserves at the Shaikan Oilfield in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, more than twice their original estimates, the company announced in a Thursday press release.

Gulf Keystone put recoverable reserves at 639 million barrels of oil, up from their original estimate of 299 million barrels of oil. The Shaikan field has produced more than 15 million barrels, and has a daily output of about 40,000 barrels of oil.

In early 2015 the company suspending exports to Turkey, as the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) was unable to pay many of its operators. In mid September the KRG’s oil and gas council released $100 million in back payments, of which Gulf Keystone was given $15 million.

Once the KRG begins regular payment, Gulf Keystone plans to invest in the Shaikan oilfield’s infrastructure and increase production to a maximum 100,000 barrels of oil per day.

“Today’s announcement is a further independent endorsement of the calibre of Shaikan as a world-class field,” the company’s CEO Jon Ferrier said in a statement.

For more news and features on the Kurdistan Regional Government, click here.

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