Afren, a British oil company, announced that it is making a strategic entry into the Kurdistan region of Iraq with acquisitions in two oil fields in Kurdistan worth US$588mn.
Afren is buying up stakes in the Ain Sifni and Barda Rash fields from the Kurdistan regional government (KRG) and Komet Group. According to a company statement, Afren has acquired an operated 60 per cent stake in Barda Rash PSC and a non-operated 20 per cent stake in Ain Sifni.
The purchase equates to 1 billion barrels of reserves.
Afren said:" The Board of Afren believes that the acquisition represents a highly complementary extension of the company's existing portfolio, and offers a combination of near term development upside, substantial low risk exploration potential and a strategic entry into the Kurdistan region of Iraq."
Afren believes that it will be extracting 75,000 barrels of light oil per day from Barda Rash alone within the next five years.
Osman Shahenshah, Chief Executive of Afren, commented: "We are delighted to acquire a high quality portfolio of assets in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, covering the full E&P spectrum of development, appraisal and low risk exploration upside."
The company has only previously operated in Nigeria, this is its first acquisition outside this area of expertise.
