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The Kurdistan Region is divided into 57 oil and gas blocks, in Erbil province (21%), Sulaymaniyah province 21%, Duhok, including Mosul province, 32%, and in Garmian with the disputed areas 26% of the blocks.

The Ministry of Natural Resources has signed contracts with about 40 foreign companies in 56 blocks, and the KRG's share of all blocks does not exceed 20 percent - 25 percent.

In The Kurdistan Region, there are only nine active oil blocks. Seven of them are located in Erbil and Duhok provinces making up 92.7 percent of all the region's oil products, and 7.2 percent of which are located between Sulaymaniyah and Garmian.

First: geographical division of Kurdistan region's oil blocks

The Kurdistan Region is divided into 57 (oil and gas) metal blocks, 17 of which are located within the borders of disputed areas (but within the KRG's authority). The blocks are divided into areas and provinces in the region in a way that Erbil governorate 12 blocks, Sulaymaniyah governorate 12 blocks, Duhok governorate 18 blocks, and Garmian 15 blocks.

Details of the geographical distribution of the oil blocks

1. Tauka block: In Duhok province, it is located in the Zakho district, which is 594 square kilometers and has a total of 1.9 billion barrels of oil.

2. Duhok Center Block: it is located in the north of Duhok city and the middle of the province and is 600 kilometers square.

3. Slevani block: In Duhok province, it covers the south of Zakho district to Mosul Lake and is 700 kilometers square.

4. Sindi-Amedi block: In Duhok province, this block covers Amedi district, Sindi plain, and the north of Zakho district. It’s 2358 km square.

5. Sarsang block: In Duhok province, includes Sarsang, Swaratuka, and northeast of Duhok. Its 1,085 kilometers square and is expected to have 2 billion barrels of oil reserve.

6. Bir Bahr block: In Duhok province, the northern city of Duhok. Its 350 kilometers, contains 1.92 billion barrels of oil reserve.

7. Sheikh Adi block: In Duhok province, it is located in the east of Duhok city and north of Shekhan. It’s 180 square kilometers and contains 1.9 billion barrels of oil reserve.

8. Duhok block: Located in the Center of the Duhok district and the south of Duhok city and Smel district. It’s 162 square kilometers. Contains (2.2) billion barrels of oil reserve.

9. Alqush block: In Duhok governorate, it is located in the south of Duhok city, and its a 331 km square area.

10. Atrush block: In Duhok province. Located the south of the Duhok district. It’s 269 square kilometers and contains 3 billion barrels of oil.

11. Shekhan Block: In Duhok province, 283 square kilometers, It is estimated to be about 10.5 billion barrels of oil reserve.

12. Ain Safni Block: Locate in the Ain Safni area in eastern Mosul. Its 840 kilometers and contains one billion barrels of oil.

13. Dinarta block: In Duhok governorate, includes, Mirga Sur, Barzan, south Akre, and Shiladze. It is 1,139 square kilometers.

14. Akra-Bejil block: In Duhok province, Includes, the Akre district and the Bijil district until the Bekhma area, Its 889 square kilometers and more than one billion barrels of oil reserve.

15. Ruvia block: In Duhok province, Includes, the south of bardarash and the north of the Akre district. It’s 517 square kilometers and contains 1 billion barrels of oil.

16. Sarta block: In Erbil province, it is located in the west of Masif district and south of Akre. It is 607 square kilometers and contains 1 billion barrels of oil.

17. Barda Rash block: In Duhok province, located in the Bardarash district. It is 265 kilometers square and contains 1.5 billion barrels of oil.

18. Bashik block: Located in the town of Bashik in the east of Mosul. It is 350 square kilometers.

19. Erbil block: It is located northwest of Erbil and the Bastora area. It’s 313 square kilometers and is expected to be 1 billion barrels of oil.

20. Erbil Damir Dagh block: Erbil city, Erbil plain, Makhmur road, and Kalak district. it is 1531 square kilometers.

21. Harir block: In Erbil province, Harir district, northern Shaqlawa districts until Soran, 700 kilometers. it is expected to contain about one billion barrels of oil.

22. Pirmam block: In Erbil province. Located in the center of the Pirmam district, and Sary rash area. 180 Squares kilometers.

23. Betwata block: 650 Squares kilometers, in Sulaymaniyah province, it starts from Hajiawa town and reaches Betwata, Balisan, Khoshnawati.

24. Choman: From Erbil province, it was first given to the Turkish Energy company, but then the company withdrew from the block.

25. Handren: In Erbil province. Just like the Choman block was given to the Turkish Energy company, the company later withdrew from this block too.

26. Shakrok block: In Sulaimaniyah province, it starts in the Khedrani district in Dukan until near Shaqlawa. 418 square kilometers.

27. Safin block: In Erbil governorate. Starts from Safina mountain to Hizop, it is 500 square kilometers.

28. Bana Bawe block: In Erbil province, it covers from the Hiran and Nazinin areas to Goma span, in 240 square kilometers has more than a billion barrels of oil.

29. Shorsh Block: In Erbil province, From the north-east of Erbil and the Degala district to Goma span, in 526 square kilometers.

30. Mala Umer Block: In Erbil province, it is south-east of Erbil and 285 square kilometers, is expected to be 500 million barrels of oil.

31. Qushtpa block: In Erbil province, it starts from Qushtapa, south of Erbil, to Dubzu and Prde. it’s 1,180 Square kilometers.

32. Qaladze block: In Sulaymaniyah province, it covers all Kaladze districts, Marqa, Dukan Lake, and Rania. It is about 2,000 kilometers square.

33. Khalakan block: In Sulaymaniyah province, Kalakan town, Haybat Sultan Mountain, and a part of Koya plain until Little Zab River. In 624 square kilometers has (2,450) billion barrels of oil.

34. Taqtaq blocks: is located in Koya district, Taqtaq district, and Aghja district in Chamchamal, containing more than one billion barrels of oil reserve, 951 square kilometers.

35. Piramagrun block: In Sulaimaniyah province, east of Dukan-Sulaymaniyah road and the foothills of Piramagrun mountain till it reaches Dukan town, it is more than 730 square kilometers.

36. Miran block: In Sulaimaniyah province, it starts from Tasluja, west of Dukan-Sulaymaniyah road, including a part of Agjalar, Bazian, and Chamy Razan Resort. It's 1015 square kilometers. Contains two big oil fields; east Miran which is expected to have 1,637 billion barrels of oil, and west Miran, which contains 4,808 billion barrels of oil.

37. Bazian block: In Sulaimaniyah province, Sagarma mountain, west of Bazian, Takia town, and part of Agjalar in Chamchamal district. Its 473 square kilometers, and has 1,178 billion barrels of oil reserve.

38. North Sangawa block: In Garmian. it is located north of Sangaw in Chamchamal district. it contains 6,163 billion barrels of oil in 492 square kilometers.

39. Top xana block, In Garmian. East of Qadir Karam district and Jabari area. Contains 4 billion barrels of oil in 945 square kilometers, despite a large amount of gas.

40. Taza block, In Garmian. Including a part of Nawjul and west of Qadir Karam district. It is expected to be 3 billion in oil and a large amount of gas in 700 square kilometers.

41. Palkana block: In Garmian, Duzkhurmatu, and Jabara district, which is 529 square kilometers, containing 1.58 billion barrels of oil reserve.

42. Penjwen Block: In Sulaymaniyah province. Extends from the center of Penjwen to the Iranian border, and it is worth mentioning that no investment has been made in this block so far.

43. East Arabat block: in Sulaymaniyah province, it covers Siwail, Barzanja, and a part of Sharazur to Nalparez district in Penjwen district and is 700 km square.

44. Arabat block, in Sulaimaniyah city. Extends from Arabat to New-Halabja District. Including Goizha and Azmar mountain. Its 974 square kilometers, containing 1,177 billion barrels of oil.

45. Baranan block: In Sulaymaniyah province, containing south-east of Sulaymaniyah and Baranan mountain until it reaches Darbandikhan lake. It's 722 square kilometers.

46. Qaradagh block: In Sulaymaniyah province, including the Qaradagh area and the east of Sagarma Mountain and west of the Sirwan River to Darbandikhan. it contains 4,896 billion barrels of oil in 846 square kilometers.

47. South Sangawa block: In Garmian, it covers the center of the Sangaw district and its surroundings. It is 846 square kilometers and is expected to have 2 billion barrels of oil and one trillion cubic meters of natural gas.

48. Kordamir block: In Garmian. Located in the south of Sangaw district and the north of the Kalar district until the Sirwan River. contains 5,129 billion barrels of oil reserve in 620 square kilometers.

49. Garmian block: Including the northern district of Kalar, Bawanur, Sarqalla, and Sheikh Tawel. Contains more than 4 billion barrels of oil in 2120 square Kilometers.

50. Shakal block: In the Garmian area, it covers the south of Kalar, Rizgari district, and Kafri district. which contains about 2 billion barrels of oil in 832 square kilometers.

51. Chia Surkh block: In Garmian. Located in the east of the Sirwan River. Extents from Qoratu and Maidan district in Khanaqin until the Iranian border. Contains 5,656 billion barrels of oil in 938 square kilometers.

52. Kor Mor Block, in Garmian:

The first Block of Kor Mor; is located in the Qadir Karam district of Chamchamal. Containing more than 2 trillion cubic meters of natural gas in 510 square kilometers.

Second Block of Kor Mor; It’s a separate block from the Qadir Karam block. It’s around 300 square kilometers and has a large amount of gas and oil.

53. Chamchamal block: In Garmian area. Extends from small Zab until Basara river to Chamchamal district, and its 1169 square kilometers

54. Qara Hanjir block: In Garmian, it is located between Chamchamal and Kirkuk, which Contains Shwan, Qara Hanjir, and the Takai Jabari district. It’s expected to be 5 to 10 billion barrels of oil in 1,200 square Kilometers.

55. Khurmala block: In Erbil province, it is in the southwest of Erbil. Extends from Kirkuk field, which includes both Khurmala and the Avana of Khurmala.

56. Halabja block: in Sulaymaniyah province, it is located in Halabja district. Contains Khurmal, Sirwan, Biara, Gelejal, Halabja district center, and a part of Sayed Sadiq. Contain an estimated 650 million barrels of oil in about 1000 square kilometers.

57. Jabal Kand block: It covers the northeast of Mosul and is 400 square kilometers.

Second: foreign companies in the Kurdistan Region

The KRG has started oil contracts with foreign companies from 2002 until 2013, the number of companies in the Kurdistan Region to develop the region's oil sector has reached about 40 companies.

Third: the share of foreign companies in the oil and gas blocks of the Kurdistan region

As we mentioned earlier, the Kurdistan Region is divided into 57 oil and gas blocks, the Ministry of Natural Resources has signed contracts with about 40 foreign companies in 56 blocks, and the Kurdistan Region's share of all blocks does not exceed 20%-25%.

Fourth: The stages of work and production capability in oil blocks

The oil blocks are generally divided into three types, two of which are oil blocks (those in production and those in pre-production), the third of which are gas blocks.