DNO resumes drilling in Kurdistan's Tawke license to boost production
DNO ASA has restarted drilling on the Tawke license in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.
The company began a two-rig, eight-well program on the license to increase production and add to existing reserves. A third rig was signed up in January to drill additional wells this spring, the company said as part of its full-year 2025 report.
The renewed activity comes after a 30-month investment hiatus in Kurdistan, which was triggered by the closure of the export pipeline to the Mediterranean in 2025.
DNO expects 2026 capital expenditure in Kurdistan—now that drilling has restarted—to be US$100 million, up from US$22 million last year.
In 2025, despite damaging drone strikes, DNO reached an average gross production of 70,100 boe/d from the Tawke license, increasing to 77,300 in the year’s fourth quarter following repairs and additional well workovers. The company is now targeting gross average production of 100,000 boe/d.
To ensure predictable cash to support its ongoing spend, DNO continues to sell its oil on a cash-and-carry basis under existing contracts with local buyers at a price in the low $30 range, but aims to access export markets or export prices later in the year.
DNO operates the Tawke license containing Tawke and Peshkabir fields with 75% interest. Genel Energy plc holds the remaining 25%.
About the Author
Alex Procyk
Upstream Editor
Alex Procyk is Upstream Editor at Oil & Gas Journal. He has also served as a principal technical professional at Halliburton and as a completion engineer at ConocoPhillips. He holds a BS in chemistry (1987) from Kent State University and a PhD in chemistry (1992) from Carnegie Mellon University. He is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE).