OREANDA-NEWS. Petroceltic International plc (Petroceltic), the upstream oil and gas exploration company focused on North Africa, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, is pleased to announce it has spudded Shakrok-1, the first well in its drilling campaign in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

 Kurdistan Region of Iraq
 In July 2011 Petroceltic announced that Petroceltic Kurdistan Limited (Petroceltic Kurdistan) had entered as a joint venture partner into Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) with the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq (KRG) in respect of the Shakrok and Dinarta exploration blocks in the central northern area of Kurdistan. The blocks are held in partnership with Hess Middle East New Ventures Ltd. (Hess) and the KRG which have a 20% carried interest in each PSC. Petroceltic Kurdistan holds a 16% participating interest (20% paying interest) with Hess holding the remaining 64% participating interest (80% paying interest) in the PSCs.

 Since July 2011, a substantial technical work program has been carried out on these blocks, including multiple fieldwork and rock sampling campaigns, structural modelling and ongoing 2D seismic acquisition, processing and interpretation programs. In addition, preparations for a drilling campaign have been progressing, in parallel with this sub-surface work, with the selection of drilling locations, well design work, the execution of permitting procedures and the contracting and mobilization of two rigs into the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

 Shakrok-1 Well
 Shakrok-1 is targeting Jurassic and Triassic fractured carbonate reservoirs which over recent years have yielded a number of major discoveries along trend, including Shaikan, Swara Tika, Atrush and Bina Bawi. The Shakrok Prospect is a broad four-way dip closed anticlinal structure mapped at surface and in the sub-surface. The prospect contains multiple stacked reservoir targets of Jurassic and Triassic limestones and dolomites sealed by interbedded evaporites and shales. In August 2012 De Golyer and Mc Naughton estimated the total Shakrok prospect to have consolidated P50 resource potential of 650 million barrels of recoverable oil and a geological chance of success (Pg) of 24.5%.

 The Shakrok-1 well has a proposed Total Depth (TD” of circa 3000m and is estimated to take approximately 150 days to drill to the target TD.