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Gulf Keystone ups Iraqi oil estimates

LONDON, Jan. 14 (UPI) -- Oil and gas explorer Gulf Keystone Petroleum said Thursday an external review of its Shaikan-1 well in Iraqi Kurdistan showed increased oil in place.

The company announced Thursday an independent review of the oil at Shaikan-1 showed there was between 1.9 billion and 7.4 billion barrels in the reservoir.

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The company in August revised its estimates of in-place oil volumes from the well to more than 1.5 million barrels.

"This report independently corroborates the world-class quality of the discoveries and provides invaluable data for our next test wells appraising these finds," said Todd Kozel, executive chairman of Gulf Keystone

Gulf Keystone, a London-listed company, said combined reserves in the region could bring the aggregate flow rate to about 24,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

Regional developers, from Turkey's Genel Enerji to Canada's Heritage Oil, have moved on Kurdish fields. The Taq Taq and Tawke fields began exports in June.

Despite the abundance of oil discoveries in Iraqi Kurdistan, bitter disputes between the Kurdish and central governments of Iraq drag on the national energy sector.

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