Dana, Crescent Restore LPG Capacity in Kurdistan

Dana Gas PJSC, a Middle East private-sector natural gas company, and Crescent Petroleum, a Middle East’s private oil and gas company, in their capacity as joint operators, have announced the completion of the rebuild of the LPG loading and dispatch facilities at the Kor Mor LPG Plant in Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

The reconstruction and upgrading of the loading facilities at a cost of $15 million was carried out following an accident last year by a third party tanker operator, and incorporates the latest LPG loading safeguarding and control technology which provides for significant enhancement in the safety and control over the LPG loading process. The Kor Mor LPG Plant now has the capacity to produce up to 900 tons/day of LPG which is once again available to the Kurdistan Region and surrounding markets and should give a further boost to the companies’ revenues.

Total Production and Investment Levels
Total cumulative petroleum production by the companies in their major gas operations in the Kurdistan Region has now reached 88 million barrels of oil equivalent from continuous production since October 2008 with a total investment on behalf of the partners in excess of $1 billion, following agreements signed with the Kurdistan Regional Government for the Kor Mor and Chemchemal blocks in April 2007. This makes it the largest investment and highest cumulative production in the Kurdistan Region’s oil and gas sector, the company said.

Daily production has reached a peak rate of 88,000 barrels oil equivalent per day (boepd), averaging 80,000 boepd, which includes 340 million cubic feet of gas per day and 15,000 barrels per day of condensate liquids, and there are plans for further expansion in investment and production levels, under discussion with the Ministry of Natural Resources.

In total, more than 415 billion cubic feet of gas and 18 million barrels of condensate and liquids have been produced by the companies since the start of production in 2008, with the gas supply to local power stations enabling 2,000 MW of new electricity generation for the Kurdistan Region. This has ensured almost continuous power supply for 4 million people in the Kurdistan Region, in contrast to the electricity crisis in other parts of Iraq, and provided close to $10 billion of savings in fuel costs for the government, with annual savings of $3.3 billion going forward and major environmental benefits in cutting greenhouse gas emissions while transforming and energizing the economic and social development of the entire region at the same time.

Technical Achievements
The many notable technical achievements of the project include: achieving first gas in a record time of only 15 months, the installation of a 180km gas pipeline across challenging mountainous terrain that required the clearing of minefields; installation of new gas processing plant drilling successfully to tertiary reservoir formations at depths of 2,300 meters, importing and installing over 64,000 tons of equipment in over 3,500 truck-loads, with pipe material supplied from China and Thailand, and the state-of-the-art gas processing plant imported from the U.S.

During the project’s construction phase, work opportunities were provided for over 2,000 Iraqi workers from all ethnic groups and sects, supported by expatriate workers from over 20 nationalities in the region and worldwide. Currently employing 460 full-time employees in the Kurdistan Region, the companies have successfully implemented a nationalization program, already achieving over 80% local staff ratio in their operations while implementing a major training program.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Program
Crescent Petroleum and Dana Gas have also implemented a corporate social responsibility program to support the local communities, including most recently the support pledged to 1,000 orphans in the Kurdistan Region in the Anfal areas which were most badly affected by conflict during the past decades in partnership with the Barzani Foundation. In addition the companies have provided school supplies, drinking water treatment, generators and fuel enabling 24 hour electricity for the local villages, mobile medical units and youth sports facilities. These initiatives are assisting the local communities in improving their standard of living, health, well-being, security and stability and the development of human capital in the Kurdistan Region.

danagas.com

crescent.ae