The Kurds of northern Iraq have appointed a Turkish oil company to the oil-rich Tawke field’s production-sharing contract and at least one ...

The Kurdistan Regional Government chose Turkish Genel Enerji for a 25 percent interest in Tawke, Norway-based DNO reported Monday.

The selection ends a year-long process in-line with all its production-sharing contracts. The Kurds have the right to bring in a third party wherever they want. Kurdistan is keen to strengthen project finances and ties to the cross-border Turkish market.

Genel Enerji also won out at Duhok, while at Erbil, the new partner was left unnamed. Both fields are in the exploration and appraisal phase. After the contract awards, the Kurd’s government still has 20 percent in each of the Tawke, Duhok and Erbil contracts.

For Norway-based operator DNO, the finding of a partner means a 25 percent drop from its 100-percent-cost-paying burden in the 240,000-barrel Tawke contract. At Erbil and Duhok, DNO will pay 60 percent of costs.

At all fields, DNO is still entitled to recover some $15 million in past costs.

Genel Enerji has been working in the Kurdistan Region since 2002 and owns a 44 percent working interest in the Taq Taq oilfield. Genel Enerji is a business of Çukurova Holding Group, one of Turkey's largest industrial conglomerates.

In a slight twist, Genel Enerji has said it now owns five percent of DNO’s shares.

ws@scandoil.com

Tags: DNO International, Genel Enerji