Oil reserves in Iraq are 'massive'

ERBIL, Iraq, Jan. 5 (UPI) -- There are as many as 2.2 billion barrels of oil locked in the northern Kurdish region of Iraq, oil explorer Gulf Keystone announced.

Gulf Keystone, a London-listed oil company, announced that it completed the drilling and testing of the Shaikan-3 appraisal well in Iraqi Kurdistan. Preliminary tests of the well show in place reserves are as high as 2.2 billion barrels of oil.

John Gerstenlauer, the Gulf Keystone chief operating officer, said the resources evaluated at the appraisal well are "massive."

"They represent a significant oil resource for Kurdistan and Iraq," he said in a statement. "It is a further demonstration of the huge hydrocarbon potential of the area."

Iraqi Oil Minister Abdul-Karim Elaibi claimed in December that output had increased 100,000 barrels a day to 2.6 million bpd and will hit higher targets "sooner than expected."

Iraq plans to boost production to as much as 12 million bpd by 2017, which would put the Iraqis near Saudi Arabia's current capacity.