Iraq News Now

In the early days of Kurdistan's oil sector, Todd Kozel, founder and then-CEO of Gulf Keystone Petroleum, was debating with his geologists in London about where to spud their first well. Adnan Samarrai, then a consultant who would soon become the company's country manager, had a simple answer.

"He looked at me and said, 'Todd, just drill a hole in it and we'll find oil,'" Kozel said, recalling Samarrai's success in crunching data and trusting his gut. When the geologists left the room unhappy, Samarrai "shook his head and said, 'These young guys. You just got to know.' And I'll be damned if he wasn't right."

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