Gazprom Neft becomes operator of Garmian block in Iraq
MOSCOW. March 14 (Interfax) - Gazprom Neft Middle East, a subsidiary of Russian oil company Gazprom Neft , has assumed the operatorship of the Sarqala field (Garmian block) in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
The operatorship was transferred in line with a production sharing agreement signed in 2012, Gazprom Neft said in a statement. The previous operator of the project was Canada's WesternZagros Resources Ltd. Work at the field is now being done by Gazprom Neft Middle East personnel.
The first oil at the Garmian block was produced in 2011 and commercial shipments of crude from the field began in 2015. Total production as of March 1, 2016 amounted to 2.7 million barrels.
Gazprom Neft is involved in four projects in Iraq, three of which are located in the Kurdistan Region of the country.
Gazprom Neft Middle East holds stakes in the Halabja, Shakal and Garmian blocks. Gazprom Neft holds stakes of 80% in the Halabja and Shakal blocks, and the remainder is held by the Kurdistan Regional government. Two exploration wells have been drilled at Shakal, additional 3D seismic surveys have been carried out and the processing and interpretation of the data is almost done. At the Halabja block, interpretation of data from 2D seismics done in 2015 is almost finished.
Gazprom Neft holds a 40% stake in Garmian, where further exploration of a discovered field is continuing and it is being prepared for full-scale development. The Kurdistan Regional government is now considering the development plan for the block.
Gazprom Neft's fourth project in Iraq is the development of the Badra field in eastern Iraq, in which it holds a 30% stake and is acting as operator. Preliminary estimates put Badra's reserves in place at 3 billion barrels of oil. Commercial crude production at Badra began in August 2014.