DNO ASA increased activity in the Kurdistan region of Iraq due to stabilized oil prices and improved export payment terms. The company also will target 4-6 wildcat wells per year in the North Sea.
At the Tawke license, a fast-tracked well intervention campaign in June resulted in a month-to-month 15,000 bo/d production increase in July to 115,000 bo/d. Last month, DNO commissioned the Peshkabir-to-Tawke gas reinjection project, the first enhanced oil recovery project in Kurdistan, to unlock additional oil volumes at Tawke while significantly reducing gas flaring and CO2 discharges at Peshkabir.
At the Baeshiqa license, DNO drilled the third exploration well on a second structure (Zartik) some 15 km southeast of the Baeshiqa-2 discovery well (OGJ Online, May 7, 2020). The rig has been released and testing will begin in August in Lower Jurassic and Upper Triassic zones and is expected to last 3 months. Evaluation of Baeshiqa-2 results is ongoing to determine commerciality.
Prompted by the tax changes in Norway, the company is working with partners to accelerate infill drilling at the Ula, Tambar, and Brage producing fields; revisit development options for Brasse field, and actively evaluate Iris, Hades, Fogelberg, and Trym South discoveries.
For the second quarter, company working interest production stood at 89,700 boe/d (71,900 bo/d attributable to Kurdistan and 17,800 boe/d from the North Sea). Gross operated Tawke license production averaged 102,000 bo/d, including 58,100 bo/d from Tawke field and 43,900 bo/d from Peshkabir field, together down 11% from the first quarter as development activity dropped to preserve cash at a time of historically low and uncertain oil prices.
DNO is operator at Tawke (75%) with partner Genel Energy International Ltd. (25%). DNO has 32% interest and operatorship of Baeshiqa with partners ExxonMobil (32%), Turkish Energy Co. (16%), and the Kurdistan Regional Government (20%).
