London-listed Genel Energy plans to double production from the Tawke field in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq by the end of the year.

Genel plans to boost production capacity at the field to 100,000 barrels a day (b/d), from up from 75,000 b/d currently, through a programme of plant and pipeline upgrades, according to a 10 January statement to the London Stock Exchange.

The field produced an average of approximately 42,800 b/d in November. The December figure, still to be confirmed, was expected to be around 60,000 b/d.

The company is also working on five new development wells on the field, the first of which was drilled at the end of December.

A new report by US independent assessors, DeGolyer & MacNaughton puts estimates of the Tawke field’s proven and probable reserves at 509 million barrels of oil, up 78 per cent on previous estimates of 286 million barrels.

“Gross proven, plus probable, plus possible reserves (3P) are now estimated at 876 million barrels of oil, an increase of 68 per cent on the previously reported figure,” says the statement.

Genel has a 25 per cent stake in the Tawke field, while Norway’s DNO holds 55 per cent.

Further reserves announcements could follow this year, with Genel planning to drill deeper wells in the second half of the year, targeting a further 200 million barrels of “gross unrisked mean resources”.

“In addition, the current Peshkabir-1 exploration well, which is on the West Dohuk structure area of the Tawke licence, is targeting 304 million barrels of gross unrisked mean resources,” says the statement.

Results from the exploration wells are expected in the second quarter.