MOL makes new discovery in Iraqi Kurdistan

20 February 2013

Hungarian firm MOL building well-test facility at Akri-Bijeel block in northern Iraq

MOL Hungarian Oil & Gas has made its second oil and gas discovery at the Akri-Bijeel block in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq.

MOL drilled the Bakrman-1 well in May 2012 to a total depth of 4,100 metres, which was followed by a well-testing programme targeting reservoirs in the Jurassic and Triassic formations, according to a 20 February statement by London-listed Gulf Keystone Petroleum. Gulf Keystone has a 20 per cent stake in the block.

Two open-hole tests and three cased-hole tests have so far been carried out by MOL, with the second open-hole test carried out at between 3,930 and 4,100 metres. This resulted in daily flow rates of about 2,616 barrels a day (b/d) of light oil with an American Petroleum Institute (API) gravity of 32 to 35 degrees and a gas flow rate of 5.86 million cubic feet a day (cf/d).

MOL is expected to complete the well-testing programme in April. Further appraisals are planned for the Bijeel discovery, with Bijeel-2 and 5 wells scheduled for 2013. The company is currently building and commissioning an extended well-test facility for the Bijeel discovery.

Due for completion by the end of February, it will have a total capacity of 10,000 b/d and storage for 30,000 barrels. The facility will be completed and tied to the well once a work-over rig arrives. First test production is expected in May.

MOL signed a production-sharing agreement with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) for the Akri Bijeel block in 2007.

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