Chevron to resume drilling in Kurdistan, Iraq

US oil major Chevron intends to resume drilling in the oil-rich, semi-autonomous Kurdistan region of Iraq as tensions lessen between Kurdistan Regional Government and Baghdad.

The firm plans to drill the Sarta 3 well, north of Erbil.

Last October, it had temporarily halted exploration work due to tensions between the the region and federal government, reported Bloomberg.

Oil operations faced disruptions in the northern part of the country as the Kurds voted favouring independence last September. This compelled Baghdad to dispatch forces to take control of the Kirkuk oilfield from the Kurdish government.

Even though the future of this region is still not certain, the situation has not worsened, which has returned hopes for Chevron to restart operations.

Chevron has been operating in Kurdistan since 2012.

It holds 80% equity in the Sarta production-sharing contract (PSC) and the Qara Dagh PSC.

These two blocks comprise a total area of 279,000 net acres.

It completed a second exploration well in the Sarta block in 2016 and intended to carry out further evaluation.

Some oil producers such as Genel Energy did not leave Kurdistan despite the tensions.