6 days ago
Gulf Keystone resumes output at Iraqi Kurdistan oilfield following drone attacks
DUBAI - Gulf Keystone Petroleum has resumed production at the Shaikan oilfield in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, which was halted last month due to drone attacks in the area, the company said on Wednesday.
Repeated drone attacks on oilfields in the region slashed crude output, including the production of other companies as well, by 140,000 barrels to 150,000 barrels per day, energy officials told Reuters last month.
Gulf Keystone has a production sharing contract with Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government with an 80% working interest in the licence for Shaikan, located around 60 kilometres (37 miles) to the northwest of the capital Erbil.
"Production operations recently restarted at the Shaikan Field following a security assessment and consultation with the Kurdistan Regional Government," Gulf Keystone said in a statement.
The company will provide a further update on its production and sales as part of its first-half results announcement later this month, it said.
"The Company continues to actively engage with government stakeholders regarding a resumption of pipeline exports and remains ready to restart as soon as possible, contingent on securing written agreements," it added.
The Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline has been offline since 2023, after an arbitration court ruled that Turkey should pay $1.5 billion in damages for unauthorised exports between 2014 and 2018. Turkey is appealing the ruling.
