Genel continuously looking for opportunities, chief says
Updated : 21:21
The number of oil producers in the Kurdistan region of Iraq is set to shrink drastically over the next five years, to the benefit of the largest operators, such as Genel, Exxon and Chevron.
That is according to Genel’s chief executive officer Tony Hayward, in an interview given to Bloomberg News on 21 November, on the side-lines of the Atlantic Council conference in Istanbul, Turkey.
The British outfit is a joint-operator in seven of Kurdistan’s oil and gas fields and recently made off with a 36% stake in the Bina Bawi gas field, from rival OMV, giving it full ownership.
“Having made four or five investments in the region, we are continuously looking for opportunities,” Hayward added.
The company expects the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to approve the development of the Miran and Bina Bawi gas fields before the end of the year.
Combined they are expected to supply 4bn cubic metres of gas per year starting in 2018, with the potential for output to more than double by the end of the decade.
Genel expects to earn a return on its investment through the condensate which would be extracted from the gas and the associated oil.
In turn, the KRG would gain access to production which it would sell on to Turkey at a price of $7 per million Btu, making it a match for Russian supplies.