DNO ASA to test Tawke-1 in northern Iraq

March 24, 2006
DNO ASA, Oslo, plans several tests of its Tawke-1 wildcat in northern Iraq.

By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Mar. 24 -- DNO ASA, Oslo, plans several tests of its Tawke-1 wildcat in northern Iraq.

The well, drilled under a production sharing agreement with the Kurdistan regional government, is north of Mosul along the Mardin high east of Syria and near the Turkish border.

Spudded Nov. 28, 2005, the well reached 3,100 m Mar. 22 and was approaching TD. Late last year it encountered mobile 24º gravity oil in the top of three zones of interest (OGJ, Jan. 2, 2006, Newsletter).

DNO plans to suspend operations to evaluate data once drilling is complete and to move the rig to a new site for another well in the PSA area.

The PSA, signed in June 2004, does not involve Iraq's formative central government (OGJ, Dec. 12, 2005, Newsletter). DNO signed a memorandum of understanding on training and cooperation with Iraq's Ministry of Oil last April.