The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has approved a field development plan proposed by Hungary’s MOL for the Akri-Bijeel oil block in Iraqi Kurdistan.

The development will be carried out in two phases. Phase one will start immediately with four drilling rigs and one work-over rig.

MOL says using five rigs will allow the company to “better determine key factors such as the reserves base, recovery factor, optimum surface facility, design and overall field development cost”.

Terms for the lifting agreement and pipeline construction agreement are still being negotiated with the government’s Natural Resources Ministry, according to MOL.

MOL has an 80 per cent stake in the concession with London-listed Gulf Keystone holding the remaining 20 per cent. The consortium has made two discoveries since the production sharing agreement was awarded in 2007.

The Bijell oil field was discovered in 2010 and the Bakrman oil field was discovered in 2013.

An extended well test (EWT) facility is already in place in the Bijell area with the capacity to produce 10,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day (boe/d).