How will this affect withdrawal from Iraq?

[Adios]

Well, so much for ever leaving Iraq now.

Heritage said it estimated the field could have up to 12.3 trillion cubic feet of gas, with a flow rate of 75m cubic feet per day when the field is operational.

However, shares in the company fell 75.9p, or 17%, to 360.7p on the news.

Investors had been expecting Heritage to find oil in the Miran West field.

The infrastructure for getting gas to its ultimate markets is not as highly developed in the region as the infrastructure for oil.

"The discovery of a major gas field with exceptional flow rates makes this one of the largest gas fields to be discovered in Iraq," said Heritage chief executive Tony Buckingham.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12285513

[Sister Fracture]

Well, so much for ever leaving Iraq now.

[Telarus]

Well, so much for ever leaving Iraq now.

[Thurnez Isa]

Don';t take this as any informed opinion or anything, but
I'm I the only one that thinks something doesn't make sense with this story?

[Thurnez Isa]

Don';t take this as any informed opinion or anything, but
I'm I the only one that thinks something doesn't make sense with this story?

http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFLDE70P09K20110126

LONDON, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Heritage Oil said it discovered a major gas field but not oil in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, pulling shares in the company down by 18 percent on Wednesday.

Shares in the British oil explorer, which had risen by nearly 20 percent over the last two months, were down 17 percent to 362 pence at 0950 GMT on disappointment the discovery did not include significant amounts of oil.

"The fact that they struck gas isn't seen as a positive at all," one trader says. "It makes the whole area a little less commercial."

Analysts noted the difficulty in getting gas out of the region, given the lack of infrastructure.

Dougie Youngson, analyst at Arbuthnot Securities, said he expected the market to respond negatively to the news.

"There had been market concerns that the geology at Miran was more complicated than previously thought and we feel that today's news backs up that view," Youngson says

Heritage Oil, which has a 75 percent interest in the field, said it was targeting first production in 2015 and studying options such as bringing the gas into Europe via the Nabucco pipeline.

"The discovery of a major gas field of up to 12.3 TCF (trillion cubic feet of gas) in place with exceptional flow rates makes this one of the largest gas fields to be discovered in Iraq," Chief Executive Tony Buckingham said in a statement.

"We are considering various development options including a tie-in to planned infrastructure that will achieve first production for both oil and gas in 2015," he added.

Panmure Gordon analyst Peter Hitchens said the company finding gas rather than oil was slightly disappointing but maintained that it had still made a "world class discovery" and said it could become a bid target. "Although the market was hoping for oil, it would appear that the well has proved up significant quantities of natural gas. This level of gas is very exciting as it should be more than sufficient to allow a major development with sufficient gas to power the nascent gas market in the country and look at the potential of exports," he said.


I'm also a little suspicious of the companies claim of the size of the find (not for the least they doesn't seem to be much hype on petroleum or geology sites). Notice he says, "one of the largest", almost like a marketer covering his ass.
Also Brazil, Saskatchewan and North Dakota have all went on a major oil hiring spree just lately. Even China is now the fourth largest offshore Oil Producer - so expect them to be hiring as well. Then a struggling company who finds natural gas in Kurdistan (which is part of the Zagros Thrust belt so it's not really a surprise) and it's all woooopeee.. 

[the last yatto]

Wonder if they will build another HAARP

[Upstream Prone Palisade]

Halliburton Profit More Than Doubles

Internationally, [Halliburton] reported increased activity in Norway, Algeria, West Africa and Iraq, where profits came several quarters ahead of schedule and Halliburton plans to double the number of its employees to 1,200 in 2011.

...

Houston-based Halliburton reported a fourth-quarter profit of $605 million, or 66 cents a share, from $243 million, or 27 cents a share, a year earlier.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703555804576101663946202304.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Hmmmm.... Iraq is fucked.

[Cain]

Wont matter.  The (probably already being proposed) pipelines to get this through to Western Europe wont run through Iran and will almost certainly be operated by an American/European/Saudi consortium, and that is all the US cares about.