Understanding the complex structural history of the Zagros is key to unlocking the potential of Iraqi Kurdistan.

In 2003, the fall of Saddam Hussein opened up semi-autonomous Kurdistan to foreign investment. It also revived the interest of oil companies in the region, which had been explored, but not developed, by the Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC) between 1946 and 1961.

Where in the world can you still find undrilled billion barrel prospects? Iraqi Kurdistan is one answer. But what is it like to work in an area thought by many to be a war zone?

Contrary to many people’s expectations, Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, is a peaceful, busy and surprisingly modern city, with a history that stretches back over 7,000 years.

London to host conference on hydrocarbon exploration in the Zagros Mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan and Iran

We live in troubling times. After the hope of the 2010 ‘Arab Spring’ in Tunisia, we have witnessed the toppling of Ghaddafi in Libya, the overthrow of two governments in Egypt, full scale civil war in Syria and Iraq looks increasingly unstable as fundamentalist fighters of IS spread their hold on the oil-rich regions of northern Iraq and Kurdistan. And Gaza and Israel continue their uneven trade in missiles. Despite this, the search for hydrocarbons goes on. Worries about energy security and conflict always bring gains and losses to someone.

Oil is flowing to the surface in several seeps within the license area, and nearby giant fields have been producing for decades. The well Tawke # 1 is certainly being drilled in a proven petroleum province, and the first well by a foreign company in Kurdistan is now testing a huge structure delineated by modern seismic data.

The Zagros fold-thrustbelt is one of the oldest studied and exploited petroleum provinces of the world, yet for mostly political reasons it has not been fully developed and its exploration has generally taken place in a very piecemeal fashion. Attempts are now being made to develop play concepts that may encompass the whole orogenic belt.

As Iraq's political and security situation gradually becomes more stable and safer, the country's rich oil and gas resources will increasingly draw the attention of international oil companies. This article evaluates the geological inventory of Iraq's oil and gas fields, linking the progress and problems of the past to the prospects of the future.

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Iraq, which has been on the mass media's spotlight and international focus in recent years, has a record of oil and bitumen dating back to the earliest human civilizations more than five thousand years ago. Here we look at the emergence of Iraq's oil industry in the past century rooted in the heritage of the past millennia and fashioned by the modern geopolitics and geoscience.

The giant Kirkuk field, discovered in 1927, has had a very chequered history and requires imaginative reservoir engineering methods to return it to optimum productivity.

By increasing the daily output from today’s 3 MMbo to 8.3 MMbo, Iraq will be largest contributor to global supply growth over the period to 2035

Two Important Wells

Private Empire: ExxonMobil and American Power, winner of the Financial Times Book of the Year 2012