Azerbaijan, Baku, April 10 / Trend A. Taghiyeva /
Turkish oil companies Genel Energy and Petoil, exploring and developing the hydrocarbon fields in the territory of Iraqi Kurdish autonomy, announced about discovering a new rich oil and gas deposit in the Kurdish autonomy on April 10, The Lira newspaper said on Wednesday.
According to the report, oil and gas reserves have been found on the "Chia Surkh" block of the Iraqi Kurdish autonomy in which the companies conduct exploration at five wells.
According to the newspaper, up to 12,000 barrels of oil per day may be extracted at the first well on the "Chia Surkh" block. According to the companies' estimates, the oil production on the block will begin in mid 2014.
Previously, Genel Energy company announced that it plans to start importing oil to Turkey via a pipeline from Kurdish autonomy next year.
The newspaper said the company expects oil production in the Kurdish autonomy to the amount of up to 55,000 barrels per day this year. It is predicted that the company's revenues from oil exports from Iraqi Kurdish autonomy in 2013 will hit about $ 400 million.
At present, Turkey receives oil from the Kurdish autonomy in small quantities by tankers.
Earlier, officials in the Iraqi government criticized the cooperation of Kurdish autonomy and Turkey in the field of energy, calling it illegal.
According to BP, oil reserves in the Kurdish administration of northern Iraq are estimated at 45 billion barrels.