Sterling Global Operations (SGO) has completed a land clearing project for seismic survey contractor Terraseis on a 400 sq km section of land in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq slated for oil and gas exploration
The area cleared is located close to the city of Sulaymaniyah, about 321km northeast of Baghdad, Iraq’s capital city.
SGO specialises in clearing mines and other unexploded ordnance from ‘challenging’ environment, the company said.
Matt Kaye, CEO of SGO, said, “This area of the region has potential for oil and natural gas production.
“Terraseis chose SGO for this project because we’ve proven our ability to carry this type of work out successfully and within schedules that enable the client to perform its tasks quickly.”
Kurdistan Region of Iraq has seen a great deal of warfare, Kaye said, adding that economic development, such as oil and gas exploration, can only occur after safety precautions are taken.
According to the SGO executive, in the 1980s Iraq fought an eight-year war with Iran, and since 1991 the US and its coalition partners have conducted ‘Operation Desert Storm’ and ‘Operation Iraqi Freedom’.
“That means high potential for unexploded ordnance in this area,” he added.
