Page 7 - MEOG Week 49
P. 7
MEOG PerFormanCe MEOG
Amid scrutiny, good news for KRG as Gazprom Neft increases output
KurDistan
rUSSIAN firm Gazprom Neft reported this week that its Middle East subsidiary had increased output from the Sarqala oilfield in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq (KrI).
The news comes as Kurdish authorities have come under intense scrutiny amid a significant corruption case against former Minister of Nat- ural resources Ashti Hawrami.
Gazprom Neft Middle East said that total cumulative production from the asset in the south-eastern Garmian licence had reached 3mn tonnes (23mn barrels) of oil, with daily output running at an average 30,500 barrels per day (bpd).
First oil was reached in 2011, with commer- cial flows beginning in 2015, following the com- missioningoftheSarqala-1wellandaninitially slow ramp-up now modestly gathering pace.
A second well was brought on stream in 2018, raising output from 11,000 bpd to 25,000 bpd, and on April 4 the russian firm announced that the third well had entered production, with potential flow of 12,000 bpd and taking output to around 35,000 bpd.
The April announcement made reference to
the “challenging geological conditions” at the field, specifically “anomalously high pressure and reservoir temperature”. Gazprom revealed last year that enhanced oil recovery (EOr) tech- niques were being deployed at the acreage for the first time in Iraqi Kurdistan.
Alluding to a significant programme of work at Sarqala, Gazprom Neft said in early Decem- ber that “surface facilities and infrastructure have been significantly expanded in the course of developing this field.
Final works on expanding the central pro- cessing facility (CPF) are expected to be com- pleted by end-2019”.
It added that the “pipeline processing system has been updated, and the production-process automatedcontrolsystemmodernised”.
The statement noted that 5,000 bpd forma- tion-water utilisation infrastructure would be built at Sarqala “in the near future”.
CEO of Gazprom Neft Middle East Sergei Petrov said: “Preparations are now underway on drilling a further well. Commissioning this will allow us to maintain hydrocarbon production volumes in the KrI.”
Gulf Keystone provides Kurdistan update
KurDistan
LONDON-LISTED Gulf Keystone Petroleum (GKP) this week provided an operational update on its activities in the Kurdistan region of north- ern Iraq (KrI).
Having previously reined in its 2019 gross production estimate for the Shaikan field from 32,000-38,000 barrels per day of oil to 30,000- 33,000 bpd, the latest statement said that it remained on track to meet the original target, with average gross 2019 output up to the end of November sitting at 32,127 bpd.
The goalposts were moved in September, when GKP noted a delay in kicking off its lat- est drilling campaign and because of a planned shutdown of its second Shaikan production facility in October. The first well of the cam- paign, SH-12 came on stream on November 13, running at 4,600 bpd during commissioning and now producing around 4,000 bpd.
GKP described the second well, SH-9, as “a crucial part of the long-term field gas manage- ment plan and is designed to assess the gas rein- jection potential of the Jurassic formation”.
It noted that the well was spudded on October 19 and “encountered a faulted section requiring the well to be side-tracked to the Jurassic reser- voir target”. This meant a change to the drilling schedule, and assuming a one-month duration for drilling the side-track, the firm anticipates reaching 55,000 bpd of gross production from Shaikan in Q3 2020.
The company also noted the completion of the PF-1 export pipeline, with the start-up of oil exports imminent, “marking the end of export by trucking” from the field.
CEO Jon Ferrier commented: “The immi- nent start of export through the PF-1 pipeline means all production from Shaikan will now be exported directly via pipeline, benefitting safety, reducing environmental impact and improving netbacks.”
He added: “We are also pleased to announce the launch of a second $25mn share buyback programme, which is in line with our focus on returning value to shareholders, whilst retaining thecapitalnecessarytogrowthebusiness.”
Week 48 04•December•2019 w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m P7
