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OSLO,
Norway 23.Dec. - A small Norwegian oil company said
Thursday it struck oil with its first well in a
Kurdish area of Iraq in a project that angered some
Iraqis.
The well was drilled under a deal between the
Kurdish provincial government and oil company Det
Norske Oljeselskap AS, usually called DNO, signed in
2004.
The start of the project angered many Sunni Muslims
in Iraq, who called it a first step toward Kurdish
areas seeking to secede from Iraq.
Less than a month after drilling of the first well
started, DNO announced that it had struck oil at a
well depth of about 1,150 feet and that drilling
would continue to possible deeper reservoirs.
The company did not estimate the size of the find,
because more testing was needed, but said the
reservoir could be 2,600 feet thick.
Iraqi officials have said the field near Zakho, 250
miles northeast of Baghdad, could have about 100
million barrels of oil reserves.
Shares in DNO, which has a 40 percent stake in the
field, soared more than 30 percent to 50.75 kroner
($7.46) per share on the Oslo stock exchange after
the announcement.
Iraq's new constitution allows provinces to make
their own deals with oil companies for existing
reserves, but no regulations for new reserves have
yet been written.
DNO managing director Helge Eide earlier told The
Associated Press that the company was confident that
its deal was in line with the new constitution.
Sunni Muslims, the majority in resource-poor central
Iraq, oppose the new constitution because they fear
it could lead to Iraq splitting into Kurd, Shiite
and Sunni regions.
Kurds make up between 15 to 20 percent of the
country's 27 million people, while Shiites make up
60 percent and Sunnis another 20 percent.
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AP
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