Gulf Keystone has announced record flow rate results following the completion of the testing programme for the Shaikan-4 deep appraisal well in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq
The results showed that the Shaikan-4 well was producing 24,000 barrels of crude a day (bopd), the company said in a statement.
"Shaikan-4 is our best well drilled to date in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq in terms of the total net pay. It is another important step forward toward achieving our goal of fully realising the potential of the giant Shaikan discovery," commented GKP chief operating officer John Gerstenlauer.
Shaikan-4 is currently being completed as a producer and will be tied to the Shaikan-1 and Shaikan-3 extended well test facility.
Sitting 6km to west of the field’s initial well, Shaikan-4 was drilled to a total depth of 3,387 metres and, in all, Gulf Keystone carried out seven well tests in all target formations. This included the Triassic (Kurre Chine-A, Kurre Chine-B and Kurre Chine-C), Jurassic (Butmah and Lower and Upper Sargelu) and Cretaceous (Chia Gara).
According to Gerstenlauer, the record flow rate of Shaikan-4 is "very significant" as the company looks to finish its appraisal of the huge structure that comprises the Shaikan-5 and Shaikan-6 wells, which will lead to the gradual increase of test production volumes from Shaikan to more than 10,000 bopd in 2012.
