Gulf Keystone Petroleum has signed a six-month contract with a crude oil buyer in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) to export up to 40,000 boepd from the Shaikan development
The company stated that it has already received nearly US$4.9mn from the buyer, whose identity has not been revealed.
Gulf Keystone Petroleum, which primarily operates out of Iraq, is producing oil from nine wells in the Shaikan development in KRI. At the end of 2014, production was around 40,000 boepd. The oilfield is supposedly the largest in KRI, and Gulf Keystone Petroleum has a 75 per cent production sharing agreement with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).
According to Reuters, the company is currently negotiating with the KRG to establish a plan to regulate crude oil purchases. The new contract with a KRI-based buyer is an attempt by the company to strengthen its balance sheet, added the report.
