The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Nordic Representation is delighted to announce the inauguration of the first oil reserves in Iraqi Kurdistan.

The KRG Nordic would like to call attention to this historic day as the first drilling of oil reserves have begun in the province of Duhok in Iraqi Kurdistan. This morning the KRG and its contractor Norwegian international petrol company DNO announced this momentous development in an inaugural ceremony held at the site of the source. The ceremony was attended by KRG Prime Minister Mr Nechirvan Barzani.

The contract signed between DNO and the KRG in June 2004 is the first of its kind in Iraqi Kurdistan. The agreement established DNO’s mandate to develop and explore oil and gas reserves in parts of Iraqi Kurdistan.

The event is of evident economic importance to the Kurdistan region. It signifies the guiding steps towards further exploration and development of the extensive gas and oil reserves in Iraqi Kurdistan. Estimations according to Kurdistan Development Corporation (KDC) indicate that Iraqi Kurdistan has around 45bn barrels of oil reserves, making it the 6th largest in the world. Gas and associated gas reserves are estimated at an excess of 100 trillion cubic feet. As a result of the political and economic isolation of Iraqi Kurdistan under successive oppressive Iraqi regimes, these oil and gas reserves have remained largely unexplored.

This morning’s events have opened up previously inaccessible opportunities for the establishment of cooperation between the KRG and contractors to further develop the unique economic potential available in Iraqi Kurdistan. The KRG’s contract with DNO paves way for cooperation with foreign firms which can provide the necessary expertise vital to continue development in the field of natural resources.

The general conditions in Iraqi Kurdistan are extremely favourable for such investments. The successful execution of the agreement between the KRG and DNO is unmistakably a product of the political stability and general security which prevails in Kurdistan. It is also, as DNO Managing Director Helge Eide stated, the “product of the excellent cooperation between KRG and DNO".

In the history of Iraq, state policies have directed oil revenues mainly towards military operations and state oppression rather than towards the benefit of the peoples of Iraq. Therefore, notwithstanding its economic significance, the development of oil reserves in Iraqi Kurdistan enables a fresh opportunity for the KRG to ensure that the revenues from production of natural resources are put towards sustainable development and the benefit of the Kurdish public. “All of Kurdistan’s riches…in particular its resources of oil” emphasised Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani during the ceremony, “are for the Kurdish people”.

The KRG Nordic is also pleased to note the cooperative stance of the Iraqi Ministry of Oil regarding DNO’s current development of oil reserves in Iraqi Kurdistan.