ESTABLISHED PETROLEUM EXPLORATION, DEVELOPMENT AND OPERATING COMPANY
WesternZagros is a petroleum operating company with offices in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq in the cities of Sulaymaniyah and the capital Erbil. It has active petroleum operations in two blocks approximately 30km apart, located in the Garmian area of southern Kurdistan.
As well as its current operations, WesternZagros also pursues opportunities elsewhere in the Middle East and in other parts of the world.
The WesternZagros founders have been pursuing petroleum opportunities in the Kurdistan Region since the mid-2000s. As one of the first companies to enter the Region after the Second Gulf War, WesternZagros selected exploration lands that were geologically similar to the historic super-giant Kirkuk oilfield. The remarkable geology of the region features multiple stacked reservoirs many of which are oil-bearing and/or over pressured. This makes for technically challenging drilling. The company began drilling a series of exploration wells in May 2008. The company has achieved two significant discoveries. Sarqala, located in the Garmian block is a producing oilfield. Kurdamir, located in the Kurdamir block, is a large discovery – a significant natural gas cap over an oil leg that has yet to be fully delineated. Independently audited resource reports estimate the Garmian and Kurdamir blocks contain prospective resources of over one billion barrels of oil equivalent.
Garmian Block
Garmian is the southern of the company’s two blocks. WesternZagros has a 40% working interest in the Garmian Development Area, which is governed under the Garmian Production Sharing Contract. Gazprom Neft Middle East B.V. is the co-venturer and operator, also with a 40% working interest.
At the end of Q1 2021 the Garmian Development Area was producing over 30,000 barrels of light oil per day from the Sarqala oilfield.
Kurdamir Block
WesternZagros has an 80% working interest in the Kurdamir Block, which is governed under the Kurdamir Production Sharing Contract. WesternZagros, the operator of the Block, has agreed on a field development plan with the Kurdistan Regional Government. Bringing Kurdamir on production offers a significant economic development opportunity for the people of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Development of Kurdamir commenced in 2021.
WesternZagros has been a privately held company since 2017. The company continues to manage its business with the same professional and ethical standards as it did when it was publicly traded on the TSX Venture Exchange from 2007 to 2017. The company continues to invest in the economic growth in the Kurdistan Region.