After security concerns in the region prompted a mid-August suspension of operations on its Hawler license in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Oryx Petroleum Corporation (ticker: OXC) announced that it has now resumed crude oil production and sales into the domestic market at the Demir Dagh field at rates in excess of those prior to the temporary halt in August.
According to a company press release, production and sales have averaged approximately 4,300 BOPD over the past 10 days with daily volumes achieved in recent days of over 5,000 BOPD.
In an exclusive video interview with Oil & Gas 360® on August 18, Craig Kelly, Oryx’s Chief Financial Officer, discussed the political risk of operating in Iraq. Kelly said the company made the decision in early-mid August to temporarily suspend some of its operations which it felt could be exposed to a higher degree of security risk. But as of its September 3 announcement, operations have resumed.
“I think the world is slowly realizing that the ISIS problem is a global problem, and it needs a coordinated global response,” Kelly told Oil & Gas 360®. “Iraq needs assistance to get rid of ISIS and they can then start the process to rebuild what has become quite a fractured population. A federal system of government would greatly help with this restoration.”
Commenting yesterday in a company press release, Michael Ebsary, Chief Executive Officer of Oryx Petroleum, said:
“We are very pleased that tangible improvements to the security environment in the Kurdistan Region have enabled us to resume all activities at our core asset, the Demir Dagh field. The resumption of production at higher levels after only a short interruption is very positive and, while the interruption will result in delays in our development schedule, we hope to minimize those and continue our rapid ramp-up in production.
“Appraisal activities at our Ain Al Safra and Banan discoveries remain suspended pending further improvement in the security environment in the westernmost portions of the Hawler license area. Preparations for drilling at Zey Gawra continue but timing of actual drilling is not yet certain.
“We are encouraged by the response of the Kurdistan Region and Iraq authorities, together with the support of the international community, to the conflict in northern Iraq. We continue to closely monitor the situation in close co-ordination with authorities in the Kurdistan Region and continue to take measures needed to ensure the safety of our personnel and operations.”
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