ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Independent oil and gas operator Gulf Keystone said on Tuesday that it was on course to meet its production goals for 2019 at an oilfield in the Kurdistan Region.
In a statement on its website, Gulf Keystone revealed that its average gross production up until Nov. 30, 2019, at the Sheikhan Field in the autonomous Kurdish region was 32,127 barrels of oil per day (bpd). In November alone, the average gross production at Sheikhan was 40,582 bpd, it added.
Gulf Keystone Petroleum “is, therefore, on track to meet its original gross production guidance for 2019 of 32,000-38,000 bpd,” the statement read.
Regarding corporate matters, the London-based oil and gas operator posted a cash balance of $206 million as of Dec. 9.
The company said it had “confidence in its delivery of the Sheikhan project” and would initiate a second share buyback program for an additional $25 million, starting on Tuesday.
In January, Gulf Keystone announced that the company would step up operations in the Kurdistan Region’s Sheikhan field to 55,000 bpd.
Read More: Gulf Keystone says oil production to reach 55,000 barrels per day in Kurdistan
Despite not meeting that goal because of further drilling operations, CEO Jón Ferrier lauded the “significant progress” Gulf Keystone had made in the Kurdistan Region in 2019.
“We are pleased to confirm that we are on track to achieve our initial average production guidance for 2019,” Ferrier was quoted as saying in the statement, adding the company remains “on course to achieve further significant production growth in 2020.”
In June 2013, Gulf Keystone commenced commercial production operations and, subsequently, crude oil export sales at two production facilities at the Sheikhan block, which are currently capable of producing 40,000 bpd.
Gulf Keystone has said in the past that it believes oil reserves at Sheikhan are around 639 million barrels.