Kurdistan oil production increases despite pipeline closure

Shafaq News/ Crude oil production in the Kurdistan Region has increased despite the closure of its export pipeline, with plans for further expansion.

Financial reports from five public oil companies operating in the Kurdistan Region show that their crude oil production reached 173,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the second quarter of 2024, up from 170,000 bpd in the previous quarter. This is a significant recovery compared to just over 2,000 bpd in the quarter following the shutdown of the Region's main export pipeline to Turkiye's Ceyhan port in March 2023. Production had been at 182,230 bpd in the quarter before the pipeline closure.

The Region's total production, including volumes from the local Kar Group, reached approximately 250,000 bpd, down from around 400,000 bpd before the pipeline was shut.

Indicating a recovery in the Kurdish oil market, Norwegian oil company DNO announced plans to expand its operations in the Kurdistan Region for the first time since early 2023. In its second-quarter financial results, DNO stated it would mobilize a rig to drill a new well in the Tawke license. DNO's production in its fields increased by 9% from the previous quarter, with total crude output at 79,800 bpd in the second quarter of 2024.

Similarly, Canada's ShaMaran Petroleum, which operates the Atrush and Sarsang blocks through HKN Energy, expects to increase production.

Gulf Keystone also reported that it has resumed 24-hour transport operations as production and demand grow, noting a "successful return to profitability and free cash flow generation" in its first-half 2024 financial results after a challenging 2023.