The US’ Marathon Oil has announced a new oil and gas discovery at the Harir Block in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region of northern Iraq.

Marathon encountered oil with a gravity of 39-45API after drilling to a total depth of 4,260 metres at the Mirawa-1 discovery well.

Tests confirmed flow rates of 3,200-3,900 barrels a day (b/d). France’s Total also encountered gas and condensate reservoirs, which flowed at 20-30 million cubic feet a day (cf/d) and 1,700 b/d of condensates.

Marathon is the operator of the Harir Block and has a 45 per cent stake in the production sharing agreement, along with France’s Total and the Kurdistan Regional Government. The company expects to produce its first oil from the region in 2015.