Norway’s DNO to increase investment in Kurdistan to $250m

Norwegian oil and gas operator DNO is planning to increase its spending in the Kurdistan region of Iraq for this year by 50% to reach $250m.

DNO’s decision has been strengthened by higher revenues and export payments.

The company witnessed a 72% hike in annual revenue from 2016 to $347m last year.

During last year, the company accelerated the development of the Peshkabir field, which currently has two wells producing an aggregate of 16,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd).

Another 97,000bopd comes from the Tawke field, which is also operated by the company on the same licence.

DNO executive chairman Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani said: “We made the Peshkabir Cretaceous discovery early in 2017, initiated early production in June, tripled output by year’s end and already have exported two million barrels with an estimated value of $100m – more than twice the investment to date.

“And we have only started to appraise and develop this field which continues to surprise to the upside.”

The company is planning to drill a total of six Peshkabir wells this year and expects production from the field to reach 30,000bopd by summer.

Furthermore, the company will continue to ramp up production at the field in the second half of the year.

DNO is engaged in finalising plans to drill four wells at the Tawke field later this year, in partnership with Genel Energy.

Drilling is currently ongoing at the Tawke-48 well, with completion set for the end of this month.

Last year, the company registered a growth in operational cash flow by more than three times to $339m.

At the end of the year, DNO had a net cash position of $30m when compared to a net debt of $139m at the end of 2016.