Kurdistan summary
My third visit to Kurdistan and Erbil which is clearly growing and vibrant after the war when it should be remembered no production was lost. Recent troubles between Turkey and Syria involving Kurds have a different angle but neither the PKK nor the YPG are friends of the KDP, the largest party in Kurdistan. Payments resumed and relationships even between Erbil and Baghdad are improving such that the latter transfer about $380m to Erbil. The KRG is meant to deliver 250/- b/d to SOMO but so far is only delivering around 100,000 bopd to Ceyhan.
During our visit we met with the legendary Dr Ashti Hawrami, formerly Energy Minister and now Assistant Prime Minister with responsibility for energy affairs with the Prime Minister effectively taking over as Minister of Natural Resources. Dr Ashti suggested that he would be in the position for around a year or maybe until the budget process is complete which unsurprisingly is a long procedure. He remains at the heart of everything energy-wise and will be for a while yet. Kurdistan has managed to go through the war in Iraq and Syria, the Independence referendum and the halving of the oil price from 2014-2016 and has come out of the process stronger and more resilient than ever. The message we repeatedly heard from all over was Kurdistan is open for business.
Genel Energy
With Genel we visited the Taq Taq, Bina Bawi and Sarta fields which are at the forefront of Genels production growth plans in different ways. We did not go to the already prolific Tawke field or Peshkabir fields nor the exploration prospect at Qara Dagh.
Taq Taq
At Taq Taq much has changed as the company attempts to use the substantial infrastructure which could use some higher throughput to make it even more efficient. We looked at two CPFs one that has seen substantial upgrading whilst parts of the other have been taken to use at Peshkabir. It is even possible that as the Bina Bawi field is only 30km away as the crow flies that development there might also benefit from the slight overcapacity.
Taq Taq is having a second wind as the company has been successfully been drilling on the flanks of the licence with significant success and pleasingly offsetting any of the fields natural decline. The facility at Taq Taq is one of the most sophisticated I have seen for many years and the operational team that runs it is amongst the smartest I have seen in many years of visiting such installations. It is a great platform from which to deliver its own hydrocarbons but also to be a massive infrastructure bonus to subcontract to other parts of the portfolio.
Bina Bawi
Next stop was Bina Bawi which I have seen in promotional material from Genel many times over the years. Without wanting to spook anything it looks like at long last a project viable to all sides is getting off the ground. The problem with Bina Bawi has been that the combination of the early stage oil so much wanted by Genel must be married to the potential economics of funding the midstream process and therefore making acceptable returns from the gas investment.
With significant local demand for gas to replace diesel, as well as potential in export markets such as Turkey it looks as if an agreement may be emerging, in that the MNR is moving towards an agreement that works for both parties and rewarding both time scales. With the physical ability to run oil down hill to a processing station on one side of the hill and to pipe the gas to markets on the other side it seems possible to de-risk Bina Bawi. Whilst the MNR sometimes take good time to make a decision it is usually to make sure that contracts are profitable and robust and which reward both sides, if this is to happen here it is possible to see oil production in around a year. This would obviously be a major league plus to Genel.
Sarta
Before seeing Sarta we had a teach-in from Genels partners in-country, Chevron who have been in Kurdistan for many years. By way the most important thing we learned was quite how committed Chevron is to Kurdistan. Apart from a brief, war related, pull-out this team has been on the ground in-country for some years and certainly intend to remain so. Jim Hunt, who runs the Sarta process for Chevron said that in his view, Sarta is huge.
This size of development is indeed unusual for Chevron, but it is a business that they can replicate, a model that they can repeat time and again. Chevron are of the view that the field could produce 80-100,000 bopd which supports Genels view that it has the potential to be the largest field in Kurdistan. Lease, operate, maintain is the mantra and once up and running it is designed to go from signing to production in 12 months. The Chevron board like the KRI model and would to roll it out some more, and stronger partners Genel could not wish for. For Genel though it has the potential to add significantly to their production, we visited the site which has been growing very fast and pictures I have seen since show just how quickly it is being developed.
So, it that works then with a contract signed in August 2019 then first oil should be expected towards the end of next year, maybe sooner. Sarta has Tertiary to Triassic with P50 gross unrisked resource estimate of c.500 MMbbls with the smaller Jurassic Mus-Adaiyah reservoir only estimated at 150 MMbbls. With the Sarta-2 and Sarta-3 wells being re-completed and the CPF having a capacity of 20,000 b/d the latter works and is reasonably inexpensive. (Genels investment for 50% of Phase 1A to end 2020 is $60m) We visited the Sarta Phase 1A site which is already being prepared and the facility construction is well under way and a pipeline planned between the two wells.
Qara Dagh
Finally, the Qara Dagh project which the company has also started work on and will drill the QD-2 well in Q2 2020. The QD-1 well was drilled in 2011 and for various reasons including encountering the reservoir much deeper than prognosis didnt flow at commercial rates. The 2 well will drill 10km to the North West of QD-1 testing the structural crest and this represents a very decent part of the exploration upside in the portfolio. Finally, it has since been announced that Genel has indeed signed a rig contract for the drilling of the QD-2 well at Qara Dagh as expected. It will indeed test the structural crest 10km to the NW of the QD-1 well which tested sweet, light oil but the well had operational difficulties. Spud date is confirmed to be in H1 2020 with the rig booked and unrisked gross mean resources at QD are currently estimated by Genel at c. 200m MMbbls.
Genel – Conclusion
Final thoughts after the visit to Kurdistan were very positive indeed. The country is, whatever reports suggest, is safe and secure and very much open for business. Erbil, whilst not quite the new Dubai as some have labelled it is modern, workmanlike and a city full of professionals wanting to get things done.
For Genel there is much upside, it has existing success at Tawke recently added to by Peshkabir and at Taq Taq it is delivering on the wells being drilled around the flanks and it may also provide infrastructure for other local fields. But the potential upside from Bina Bawi, Sarta and Qara Dagh give it an added amount of substantial upside that isRead More – Source
