Gulf Keystone has announced that the onshore Shaikan-10 oil well, located in Kurdistan Region of Iraq, has spud with production expected to commence soon
In June this year, the independent oil and gas firm had received approval from the regional government for its development plan for the Shaikan field.
The Shaikan-10 well is supposed to be the start of the development campaign, which will see at least three rigs involved.
Production operations for the newly-commissioned Shaikan production facility (PF-1) will also begin shortly, company sources said.
Shaikan-10 is expected to be tied to a second Shaikan production facility (PF-2), which is currently under construction, and will have an initial capacity of 20,000 bpd. Shaikan-2 and Shaikan-5 wells, which are already in production, will also be tied back to PF-2.
PF-1, when combined with PF-2 later this year, will allow the company to achieve its immediate short-term production target of 40,000bpd.
Todd Kozel, chief executive officer of Gulf Keystones, said, “The company is now fully permitted to commence production from the Shaikan field and this represents a key milestone in the company’s growth.”
The company plans to boost output from the field to 150,000 bpd within the next three years and is aiming for production to top 250,000 bpd by 2018.
Situated about 85km north-west of Erbil and covering an area of about 283 sq km, Gulf Keystone had previously estimated the Shaikan field held 13.7bn billion barrels of gross mean oil-in-place.
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Gulf Keystone gets approval to develop oilfield in Kurdistan Region of Iraq
