Petrel Resources Updates on Iraqi Prospects
Irish-based Petrel Resources Plc (LON: PET) has published its consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31st December 2024.
The company's accounts show no assets or liabilities in Iraq. It adds:
"Title to oil and gas assets in Ghana and Iraq can be complex. The Group is currently awaiting ratification of its licenses in Ghana and Iraq."
Regarding prospects in Iraq, the company said:
" An early opportunity may lie in projects to recover and monetise flared gas with contained liquids in southern Iraqi oil-fields. Petrel had made such proposals from 2004 through 2009 on the Subba & Luhais fields, on which we were the EPC (Engineering, Procurement & supervision of Construction) Operator. At that time our client (SCOP) [State Company for Oil Projects] was unable to sign such an agreement for legal reasons - even though it would have substantially reduced their development costs. However, we believe that some or all of the bureaucratic barriers may now have been overcome.
"There has been a recent site visit and early discussion with the authorities by an experienced regional services provider, which has successfully conducted such operations elsewhere.
"We had excellent relations with the local communities, and had negligible security issues when working there previously. It's too early to be sure how such contracts would be structured.
"The Merjan oil field was discovered in 1983 by Mobil, but though economic, never developed due to the sub-economic terms available. From 2004, Petrel was invited by the Ministry of Oil to study how best this discovery could be proven up and brought into production. For best results, such smaller Iraqi fields should be developed under enhanced fiscal terms, to best align the interests of capital providers, operators and the Iraqi State. An updated development proposal was accordingly prepared to reflect financial reality and evolving Ministry guidelines.
"During 2024, Petrel was asked by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Iraq for its proposals on how Iraqi oil & gas exports could be de-bottlenecked and boosted. There is considerable scope to improve Iraqi market access, adding value to Iraqi people ."
(Source: Petrel Resources)
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