Genel Energy, an independent oil and gas company with exploration activities in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, has completed the pipeline infrastructure to export Kurdish crude to Turkey.
During the fourth quarter of 2013, the final phase of the KRI independent export pipeline infrastructure from Dohuk to Fishkabur was completed and tied-in to the Iraq-Turkey-Pipeline via a new metering station within the KRI, the company announced in a trading and operations update.
Since then, commissioning and line-fill operations have been progressing in parallel. Test flows commenced in December 2013 and first KRI oil through the new pipeline reached Ceyhan in Turkey early in 2014.
“2013 was a transformational year for Genel. The energy agreement between the KRG and Turkey and the completion of the KRI independent pipeline infrastructure has paved the way for steadily rising oil export volumes from Taq Taq and Tawke over the course of 2014,” said Tony Hayward, Chief Executive of Genel Energy.
On 8 January, the KRG announced that first export sales via the pipeline are expected to commence in the near future. Sales volumes are expected to ramp up over the remainder of the year. Genel expects that the pipeline system will be fully commissioned during 2Q 2014 once required upgrades to pumping stations on the KRI section of the pipeline are completed.
