Genel Energy says it has agreed terms with Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government for exiting the Taq Taq PSC, noting that this will “remove the risk of any residual decommissioning liabilities.” Taq Taq was the largest IOC-operated field in Kurdistan in 2014 with 103,000 b/d output, peaking at 116,000 b/d in 2015, but it suffered a catastrophic output collapse as geological challenges prompted huge reserve downgrades from 2017 (MEES, 31 March 2017). Output was below 5,000 b/d even prior to the 2023 closure of the KRG’s export pipeline, and Genel opted not to produce from it last year (MEES, 26 January 2024).
In its heyday, Taq Taq was the core asset of a broad Kurdistan portfolio for Genel, but the London-listed firm is now down to just a 25% non-operated stake in DNO’s Tawke field – where gross output of around 80,000 b/d at least yielded working interest output of 19,650 b/d. The KRG revoked Genel’s PSCs for the Bina Bawi and Miran gas fields in 2021, with the London Court of International Arbitration last year upholding the move (MEES, 13 December 2024). Genel says it won’t appeal the ruling and is focused on acquiring new assets to diversify its holdings. (CONTINUED - 192 WORDS)