Western Zagros hits oil in Kurdistan region

01 June 2011

Sarqala-1 exploration well in Kurdish region of northern Iraq discovers light oil

Canada-based oil firm WesternZagros Resources says it has discovered oil at the Sarqala 1 exploration well in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

The company discovered the light oil in the Jeribe Formation at a stabilised rate of 6,000 barrels a day (b/d).

Tests will continue to be carried out to evaluate the full flow capability at the well and the potential for early production.

WesternZagros signed a production sharing contract with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in 2008, which provides for the exploration and development of crude oil and natural gas in a 2,120-square-kilometre block. The KRG has signed more than three dozen agreements with international oil companies since 2007, although the federal government in Baghdad continues to declare them illegal.

In April, US firms US oil firms Aspect Energy and Marathon Oil Corporation also discovered oil at the Atrush block in the Kurdish region (MEED 21:4:11).

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