Abu Dhabi’s TAQA exceeds one million barrels per month in Iraqi Kurdistan oil field

Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) has said that more than one million barrels were produced in July from the Atrush oil field in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

According to a report carried by Emirates News Agency (WAM), the one million barrels is a new record for that oil field.

Production operations began at the Atrush oil field in July 2017. The current rate of production is about 34,000 barrels per day, in line with TAQA’s Q2 2019 targets. WAM’s report attributes the increase in production largely due to new wells coming on-line and recent de-bottlenecking work.

Of the production achievement, TAQA CEO Saeed Al Dhaheri said, “This significant achievement is a direct result of our Iraq team’s technical expertise and strategic planning efforts. As a global energy player with operations spanning four continents, our operations in Iraq have allowed us to strengthen our expertise as a leading developer of greenfield projects.”

He added: “We look forward to building on this achievement to continue to deliver energy to our strategic partners in the Kurdistan region, and to continue to forge strong relationships with local communities around the Atrush block.”

AbdulKhaliq Al Ameri, managing director of TAQA Iraq, added,  “Our focus for the past two years has been to improve the value of our asset while ensuring cost-optimisation and uphold our commitment to health and safety. I am particularly proud of our team, which comprises more than 300 people, many of whom are from the Kurdistan region. This achievement is a result of their hard work and dedication to TAQA’s vision.”

The Atrush field is located 85 kilometres north-west of Erbil. One of the largest new oil developments in Kurdistan, the field was discovered in 2011.

Since beginning production in 2017, Atrush has extracted about 17 million barrels of oil from the field.