|
DNO "quite confident" of Iraqi Kurdistan oil
exports in 2008
3.4.2008
|
|
|
|
April
3, 2008
OSLO, -- Norwegian independent oil producer
DNO is "quite confident" it will get a licence to
export oil from Iraqi Kurdistan in 2008, Chief
Executive Helge Eide said on Thursday.
Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of a
capital markets day in Olso, Eide said it is now a
question of when rather than if his company would
win the licence, after positive messages received
from the Kurdistan regional government.
DNO is the first western oil company to begin new
exploration and production in post-war Iraq under a
deal with the Kurdish regional authorities in the
north.
"We are not involved directly with that process but
there has been quite a number of positive signals
which makes us quite confident that it will happen
within this year," Eide told Reuters on the
sidelines of DNO's capital markets day meeting with
investors.
Eide said that after gaining an export permit,www.ekurd.net
DNO could quickly boost
its oil production in Iraq to about 30,000 barrels
per day from nearly 7,000 barrels on average in the
first two months of 2008. |
Kurdistani oil fields |
"We have 90,000-100,000 in well capacity and the
export facility can take 50,000 barrels. Immediately
when we have exports in place, we can ramp up to
50,000 barrels -- and we get 60 percent of that," he
said.
The 60 percent is DNO's working interest in the
Tawke field in the Kurdistan region of north Iraq.
DNO repeated that its total untested resource
potential in Iraq amounted to 1.5-2.5 billion
barrels of oil equivalent, including 0.6-1.0 billion
for DNO under production sharing agreements with
regional authorities in Kurdistan.
Last month DNO revised its production sharing
agreement with the Kurdish authorities, effectively
cutting its stake. The company said the revision was
a "step in the direction of exports" as the Kurdish
authorities are negotiating with Baghdad access to
Iraq's northern pipeline into Turkey.
So far, DNO has sold its Iraqi oil on the local
market at local prices.
DNO, which does not include any Iraq exports in its
guidance, has forecast production of 6,000 barrels
of oil equivalent per day from Iraq in 2008 and
15,000 barrels in total -- just above an average of
14,463 boed last year.
On Tuesday, DNO said its first-quarter output would
probably beat its 16,000 boed target.
Shares in DNO hit 10-weeks highs earlier this week
on growing hopes of an export deal with Iraqi
authorities,www.ekurd.net
but are still down some
20 percent over the past year due to a
slower-than-expected ramp-up in Iraq and export
woes.
The stock traded down 1.6 percent at 8.64 crowns at
0843 GMT, valuing the company at about $1.52
billion. Oslo's benchmark bourse index was up 0.4
percent.
Copyright, respective author or news agency,
Reuters, TF
Top |
Kurd Net
does not take credit for and is not responsible for the content of news
information on this page
|
® 