Genel Energy, the Turkish oil company recently acquired by Tony Hayward’s private equity vehicle Vallares, has successfully spudded at its Ber Bahr-1 Exploration Well in Iraqi Kurdistan.
The news comes from a company statement from Gulf Keystone, Genel’s partner in the block, which the Turkish firm operates.
The Ber Bahr block, covers an area of 208 km² to the north-west in Kurdistan and is similar in profile to the Shaikan and Sheikh Adi blocks operated by Gulf Keystone. Ber Bahr-1 will target prospective intervals in the Cretaceous, Jurassic and Triassic with a planned total depth of approximately 2100 metres.
Genel’s resource estimate for the Ber Bahr block is 1.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent-initially-in-place. The adjacent Shaikan is a major discovery with independently audited gross oil-in-place volumes of 4.9 (P90) to 10.8 (P10) billion barrels, while it is estimated that Sheikh Adi holds between 1 (P90) and 3 (P10) billion barrels of gross oil-in-place.
Gulf Keystone and Genel both hold 40% stakes in the block, with the Kurdistan Regional government taking a 20% interest.
To view the production sharing contract governing the Ber Bahr block, click here.
