Output at Iraq’s largest gas field up 75% since 2017

Production from Khor Mor, Iraq’s largest non-associated gas field, has reached 500 million barrels of oil equivalent, according to a joint statement issued by Abu Dhabi-listed Dana Gas and Sharjah-based Crescent Petroleum.

The two companies, each owning a 35 percent stake in Pearl Petroleum consortium, the operator of the gas field in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), said daily production hit 525 million standard cubic feet per day of natural gas in early March.

This is a rise of 75 percent since 2017, in addition to 15,200 barrels per day of condensate, and 1,070 tonnes per day of liquefied petroleum gas.

The Khor Mor plant provides the fuel for 75 percent of KRI power generation, enabling power for more than six million Iraqis in the KRI and other governorates.

Total investment in the project exceeds $3.5 billion, leading to the creation of 20,000 direct and indirect jobs.

The companies said that work on KM-250 project, which will boost capacity by a further 50 percent, has accelerated with expected completion in the first quarter of 2026.

Moreover, progress on the $1 billion expansion project, which includes $250 million in financing from the US Development Finance Corporation, is in the advanced stage, with completion expected ahead of time.

The consortium has also commenced work to unlock Khor Mor’s additional hydrocarbon potential and plan the new phases of the field’s development. The consortium partners will inveset $160 million to drill three wells, install an extended well test facility and construct associated enabling infrastructure.

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Pearl Petroleum is considering new financing options and has enlisted DNB Markets, part of DNB Bank ASA, and Pareto Securities AS as joint lead managers and bookrunners to arrange fixed-income investor meetings.

New senior secured bond issue with a five-year tenor may follow, subject to market conditions. The proceeds will be used to finance near-term growth opportunities and general corporate purposes.

Pearl Petroleum was founded in 2009 as a consortium with Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum as joint operators with a 35 percent equity share each, and with Austria’s OMV, Hungary’s MOL and Germany’s RWE subsequently joining the consortium with a 10 percent share each.