Genel to restart drilling for oil in Iraqi Kurdistan

10 February 2016

The Turkey-based company has not drilled in the region for more than a year

Turkey-based Genel Energy is planning to restart drilling at the Taq Taq oilfield, located in Iraqi Kurdistan, according to its chief financial officer Ben Monaghan.

“Drilling work will start imminently, in the next few weeks,” he said. He told the UK-based news agency Reuters. “It’s a symbolic restart of our investments.”

When drilling resumes it will be the first time the company has drilled in the region in more than a year.

Genel is owed more than $400m by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), according to Monaghan.

Last month the company said it was planning to invest between $80-120m in Iraqi Kurdistan over 2016, depending on payments from the KRG.

The KRG is currently struggling with a financial crisis driven by the collapse in international oil prices and the costly war with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (Isis).

A MEED Subscription...

Subscribe or upgrade your current MEED.com package to support your strategic planning with the MENA region’s best source of business information. Proceed to our online shop below to find out more about the features in each package.