UAE-based energy firm Dana Gas and its key shareholder Crescent Petroleum, have invested nearly $1 billion in the oil and gas sector of Iraqi Kurdistan region till date, according to a senior company official.

"The total cumulative petroleum production to date has exceeded 67 million barrels of oil equivalent, making it the largest by the private sector in Iraq’s oil and gas sector," said Majid Jafar, the CEO of Crescent Petroleum and member of the Dana Gas board of directors.

"We are proud to be the largest investors in the Kurdish oil and gas sector, and the highest petroleum producers since our first production four years ago, which enables electricity supply for millions of Iraqis and billions of dollars of ongoing fuel savings for the government," remarked Jafar while speaking at a ceremony to celebrate the 4th anniversary of production.

“We are working with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Ministry of Natural Resources on the next phase of development and expansion, to grow our operations and enable further progress and prosperity for the local community,” he added.

Dana and Crescent Petroleum in their capacity as joint operator of the Khor Mor field have boosted the total production in their gas operations in the Kurdistan region to 80,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, said Jafar.

According to him, the daily production includes 340 million cubic feet of gas per day and 15,000 barrels per day of condensate liquids, and there are also plans for further expansion.

In total, over 279 billion cubic feet of gas and 13 million barrels of condensate liquids have been produced by the companies since the start of production in October 2008, with the gas supply to local power stations enabling 1,750 MW of new electricity supply locally.

Marking the fourth anniversary, Rashid Al-Jarwan, the executive director and acting CEO of Dana Gas, said: “This important milestone has been achieved with the co-operation and support of the KRG, as well as our partners, contractors and local staff."

The project partners, he stated, had by the end of September invested a total of $975 million under contracts signed with the KRG for the Khor Mor and Chemchemal blocks in April 2007.

Major achievements of the project till date include: installing a 180km gas pipeline across challenging mountainous terrain that required the clearing of minefields; first gas production after only 16 months; drilling successfully to tertiary reservoir formations at depths of 2,300m and importing and installing over 64,000 tonnes of equipment.

Crescent and Dana have also implemented a corporate social responsibility programme to support the local communities, including providing school supplies, drinking water treatment, generators and fuel enabling 24 hour electricity for the local villages, mobile medical units, and youth sports facilities.

As a show of support for the region and to enhance business relationships, both Dana and Crescent are participating at the "Erbil International Fair 2012" as a member of delegation from Sharjah Government headed by Sheikh Sultan Bin Ahmad Al Qasimi, the deputy chairman, Sharjah Petroleum Council and a board member of Dana Gas.

The companies will join 30 other firms from UAE at the event which will take place from October 15 to 18.-TradeArabia News Service