Canada’s Western Zagros Resources has struck oil at its Kurdamir-2 exploration well in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region of northern Iraq.

The company drilled to a depth of 2,812 metres at the Kurdamir-2 well encountering a porous zone of 140 metres thickness, according to a 26 March company release.

Within this hydrocarbon zone, well log data indicates 22 metres of gross natural gas, as well as 118 metres of gross oil. No evidence of water was found, says the statement.

The Kurdamir-2 discovery is the company’s third in ten months at its blocks. Tests achieved a flow rate of 7.3 million cubic feet a day (cd/d) of gas and a 950 barrels a day (b/d) of light oil and condensates.

Deeper oil pays will not be tested at this time due to time constraints, “as the well is required to drill and evaluate the deeper Cretaceous by the end of June 2012”, says the statement.

The Kurdamir Block contains an estimated 33 million barrels of oil and 850 billion cubic feet of gas.

The Kurdamir-2 exploration well was first drilled in October 2011. Western Zagros holds two production sharing contracts in the Kurdistan region for the Kurdamir and Garmian Blocks. Garmian is operated by Western Zagros, while the Kurdamir contract area is operated by Talisman Energy, another Canadian oil explorer. Western Zagros also has a 40 per cent stake in both blocks.