Kurdish oil production passes target rate

July 30 (UPI) -- Production from an oil field in the Kurdish north of Iraq moved beyond its original target rate with the tapping of another well, Norway's DNO said Monday.

The company said it put a fourth well in service at the Peshkabir field in the Kurdish north. Its rate of production is around 8,000 barrels of oil per day, meaning the entire field is now past DNO's target rate of 30,000 bpd.

"At around 35,000 bopd, Peshkabir has now leapfrogged into second place after Tawke among the Kurdistan fields operated by the international oil companies," Executive Chairman Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani said in a statement. "We are setting our sights on higher production and accelerating field development."

According to Genel Energy, the minority partner, the new well is targeting a western extension of the Peshkabir field. Two addition wells should be at the production testing stage next month.

DNO focuses heavily on operations in the Kurdish north of Iraq. Production from its Tawke field last year averaged 105,500 barrels of oil per day.

The company's total operated production last year averaged 113,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day, up just 900 boe per day from 2016. The company draws from non-Kurdish basins in Yemen, Oman and elsewhere. First half results are due Aug. 16. Genel publishes its results Aug. 7.

Annual revenues for DNO last year climbed 72 percent from 2016 to $347 million. The company said it plans to drill 10 new wells in the Kurdish north this year, which would contribute to production growth.

The Norwegian company was one of the first foreign drillers to start work in the Kurdish north when it entered the region in 2004. Peshkabir started production last year.