World Tribune.com

Kurds in Iraq searching for oil near Turkey border

SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Thursday, December 8, 2005

BAGHDAD — The regional Kurdish government in northern Iraq is conducting a search for crude oil near the Turkish border.

The autonomous Kurdish government has contracted Norway's DNO to drill for oil. The Tawke well is located east of Zakho near the Turkish border, Middle East Newsline reported.

The development could lead to an increase in tensions with Ankara, which fears the establishment of an independent Kurdish state based in part on an oil-driven economy.

DNO said Tawke-1 could contain high quality light sweet crude. The company said it would require 60 days to reach a depth of about 3,000 meters, the estimated location of the oil.

"This project will contribute to the growth of the Kurdish economy and its reconstruction," Nigirvan Barzani, who represented his uncle, Kurdish President Massoud Barzani, said. "The time when the Kurdish people will no longer be oppressed and will profit from its own riches has finally arrived."


Copyright © 2005 East West Services, Inc.

Print this Article Print this Article Email this article Email this article Subscribe to this Feature Free Headline Alerts


Google
Search Worldwide Web Search WorldTribune.com Search WorldTrib Archives