Dana Gas, the Middle East's leading regional private sector natural gas company, and Crescent Petroleum, the oldest private oil and gas company in the Middle East, remain one of the largest investors and producers in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq’s (KRI) Oil & Gas sector. The companies, along with European partners OMV and MOL, have thus far invested over US$ 1.1 billion and are currently producing an average of 82,000 barrels of oil equivalent (boe) per day, including 325 million cubic feet of gas per day and total cumulative production of more than 165 million boe.

Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum entered into agreements with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in 2007 for the appraisal and development of two major gas fields (Khormor and Chemchemal) in the KRI and were given exclusive rights to appraise, develop, process, market and sell petroleum from these substantial gas fields. The first phase of the project envisaged provision of natural gas supplies to fuel two major domestic electric power generation plants being built in Erbil and Chemchemal, as well as for local industries and export.

Major achievements of the project so far include: installing a 180km gas pipeline across challenging mountainous terrain that required the clearing of minefields; first gas production after only 16 months; drilling successfully to tertiary reservoir formations at depths of 2,300 metres, and importing and installing over 64,000 tonnes of equipment in over 3,500 truck-loads, with pipe material supplied from China and Thailand, and the state-of-the-art gas processing plant imported from the USA.

Whilst our investment has ensured almost continuous power supply for over 4 million people in the Kurdistan Region, in contrast to the electricity crisis in other parts of Iraq, and provided over US$ 15.9 billion (inception till December 2014) of savings in fuel costs for the government as a result of the migration from diesel-to-gas to fuel the power plants, the more substantial and long-term benefits of this investment arise through its downstream impacts, which have been reported in the company’s recently published Socio-Economic Benefits report.

The Kurdistan Gas Project will continue to make a substantial contribution towards KRI’s economic and social development, and help the KRG meet its strategic policy and development priorities of Enabling Infrastructure; Economic Growth; Social Well-being (measured by the UN Millennium Development Goals); and Environmental Protection at the regional, national and international levels.

The Socio-Economic Benefits assessment, which has been published with assistance from global consultants PwC, highlights Dana and Crescent’s transformational impact in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

Enabling Infrastructure & Economic Growth:

Direct Project Benefits to the economy of Kurdistan:

• Recurring yearly financial savings to Kurdistan Regional Government of US$ 3.4 billion p.a. as a result of gas-for-diesel substitution.
• Empowering local capacity building with c.18% of Kurdish nationals working in the Oil & Gas industry, employed by Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum.
• Creation of 40,000 construction job years of employment in Kurdistan (direct, indirect and induced).

Downstream Benefits to the economy of Kurdistan

Apart from Direct benefits, downstream economic benefits from Plentiful Electricity and Reliable Electricity Supply gives a range of benefit between US$ 9.6bn to US$ 15.5bn as the most likely range of benefit to the economy from the Kurdistan Gas Project. This impact range is assessed to be between 40% - 66% of the 2011 GDP of Kurdistan (US$ 23.6bn).

Impact of Plentiful Electricity Supply

Provision of cheap gas as feedstock to the two power plants supporting 46% of the rated capacity of KRI, and trebling the capacity that existed. This increase in capacity is estimated to boost long-run GDP by some US$ 6.2 – 15.5bn (26% – 66% of 2011 GDP).

Reliable Electricity Supply

Increasing the average hours of power each day from 8 hours in 2006 (2 hours in 2002 and before) to 22 hours in 2012; nearly an uninterrupted supply. This increase in reliability is estimated to result in avoided business interruption costs of US $9.6 – $21.2bn (41% – 90% of 2011 KRI GDP).

Cheap Electricity Supply

The provision of cheap natural gas to the two power plants supports the generation of electricity at internationally and nationally competitive rates. The wider impact of this has not been quantified, however, this supports the cheap electricity tariffs currently prevailing in KRI and eases pressure on Government Ministries which financially support low tariffs.

Social Well-being initiatives in KRI’s Economy:

• Providing employment to locals and increasing the per capita income of the nationals by way of earnings which are 17 times higher than the national mean salary range.
• Focused Community Action Plan in the areas of Water, Healthcare and Education for the local population, impacting tens of thousands of local nationals and improving standards of living, health, well-being, security and stability, and the development of human capital in KRI.
• Providing free electricity directly through the Khor Mor gas plant to various neighboring villages.

Environmental Protection:

• Total greenhouse gas emissions avoided by replacement of diesel with gas, amounts to 16.47 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
• Associated social cost of carbon till December 2014, valued at US$ 1.43bn.
• Continuing recurring annual savings at current level of production of c. US$ 300m per year.

• Executive Summary
• Detailed Report
  • Energy And Growth
  • Project Context
  • Enabling Infrastructure
  • Economic Growth
  • Social Well-Being
  • Environmental Protection

“One cannot overlook the massive impact that the development of gas resources has had on reviving the Region and its people in a short space of time. We are proud to have pioneered this project and the impact that this project has achieved as highlighted in this report”
Mohammed E. Makkawi,
Managing Director,
Dana Gas-Crescent Petroleum Joint Operations, Kurdistan.

“The report provides us with a macro view of our impact in the KRI, and it gives us great pride in having contributed to the growth of Kurdistan’s economy on such a large scale”
Shakir Shakir,
Country Manager,
Dana Gas, Kurdistan-Iraq.