ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — In the near future oil may begin to flow out of the Atrush Block, an oilfield near Duhok, and into Kurdistan Region’s pipeline to the world market through the Turkish port of Ceyhan.
[Taqa]’s first production at its Atrush oilfield in the Kurdistan Region nears following a series of delays,” The National, a UAE news agency, reported on Thursday. Taqa is formally named the Abu Dhabi National Energy Company.
Taqa paid $600 million four years ago for an initial stake of just more than 53 percent at Atrush, but contract disputes, technical obstacles, and security threats from ISIS delayed production, according to The National.
“After the KRG [Kurdistan Regional Government] exercised its option to take a 25 percent stake, Taqa’s holding is now 39.9 percent, Shamaran Petroleum subsidiary, General Exploration Partners (which made the original oil discovery), has 20.1 percent and Marathon, 15 percent,” The newspaper wrote.
Additionally, reports on Monday announced the Canadian firm Shamaran Petroleum has raised more than $25 million through private placement to further develop Atrush. A private placement is the sale of securities to a relatively small number of select investors as a way of raising capital.
“The net proceeds received by the company were USD 26.4 million which will be used primarily to fund the company's expenditures related to the Atrush field development in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq as well as for general corporate purposes,” Shamaran announced.
Taqa’s website states the Atrush Block is estimated to have between 1.5 billion and 2.8 billion barrels of oil in place with recoverable oil columns of 670 million barrels. Initial production from Atrush is expected to be approximately 30,000 barrels of oil per day.
In early January, the deputy head of KRG’s Ministry of Natural Resources ministry told Rudaw that including the Kirkuk oilfields, the Kurdistan Region exports “580 to 600,000 barrels per day.”
KRG officials have also said it will not abide by the OPEC accord to reduce oil exports.
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