43 oil companies from 17 countries are operating in Iraqi Kurdistan Region.
If you ask any child in Kurdistan Region to draw a picture, he or she will draw an image of a Kurdish village where there is a mountain, a sun behind it, sheep, river and a Kurdistan flag. But now the children in the areas where oil and gas have been discovered add a new thing in their drawing, a tower with fire coming out of it--oil.
The last three years have been "exceptional" for the Kurdistan Region in terms of discoveries of both oil and gas, Ashti Hawrami, the Kurdistan Region Minister of Natural Resources, told an audience of diplomats, international oil companies and reporters in Rotana Hotel in Erbil city.
"we see our region sitting on at least 45 billion barrels of oil and as much as 100-200 trillion cubic feet of gas and we expect that soon some of our reserve estimates will be included in that of Iraq's overall reserves," he said. Then he added that production levels were steadily increasing and that exports of crude from the region had already reached around 100, 000 barrels per day.
Moreover, speaking at the launch of the Oil and Gas Year Kurdistan Region of Iraq 2011, Kurdistan Region Prime Minister, Barham Salih, said Kurdistan region's vision is to export one million barrel of oil in a day.
Salih told the oil companies that the region is committed to a very transparent policy about oil management. And he called oil companies that Kurdistan is the place to set up refineries and invest their money not only for all Iraq but also for neighboring countries.
"Kurdistan Region's oil and gas will be used for the benefit of all Iraqi people, not oppressing the people like the former Iraqi government did," said Salih who mentioned that the region is committed to the Iraqi Constitution; and he asked Baghdad to be committed to the agreements which both sides approved of.
Besides, Hawrami said he was optimistic that the outstanding issues between Erbil and Baghdad would soon be solved. He said that he expected the Iraqi parliament to pass a hydrocarbons law and a companion revenue sharing law in the coming months. "Iraq needs these laws. The region needs this law, they have already been delayed too long," he said.
He mentioned that Baghdad government pays for the expense of oil companies which are operating in the Kurdistan Region since the revenue of Kurdistan's oil goes to the Iraq's general budget. "Right now the region sends $10 million every day to the Iraqi general budget."
He mentioned that there is a new political agreement between Baghdad and Erbil, and any political statement by any Iraqi politician will not affect the agreement.
Kurdistan gas and the Nabucco Project
The Nabucco project is a vital element of Europe's attempts to strengthen ties with Central Asian countries and break free from Russia's grip on gas supplies. Due to its shared border with Turkey, which is on the pipeline route and one of the six shareholders in the project, the Kurdistan Region is in a prime position to supply the pipeline.
Hawrami said gas discovered in Kurdistan would first help to solve Iraq's chronic electricity shortages and then provide an important source of revenue for the federal government through exports to Turkey, Europe and beyond. "New gas discoveries to date total to 20 trillion cubic feet," said Hawrami. He added that the Kurdistan government is working to develop a further 5000 MW of electricity, in addition to the current domestic plan of 2000 MW. "This is for the supply for both the Kurdistan governorates and to our neighboring provinces of Mosul, Kirkuk and Salahaddin.
He mentioned that Kurdistan can feed Europe with gas for 70-80 years.
© The Kurdish Globe 2011
