The Kurdistan Gas Project was established in 2007 in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum entered into an agreement with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) for exclusive rights to appraise, develop, produce, market, and sell hydrocarbons from the Khor Mor and Chemchemal Fields, enabling the government to secure stable and affordable gas supply for regional power generation.
Production from the Khor Mor gas processing plant and the 180 km pipeline supplies gas to power stations in Chemchemal, Bazian and Erbil, generating over 2,000 MW of electricity. Production commenced in October 2008, just 15 months after project initiation, setting an industry benchmark for rapid development. In 2009, Pearl Petroleum (PPCL or Pearl) was formed as a consortium with Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum as shareholders (initially 50% each). Today, Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum each owns 35% after OMV, MOL, and RWE joined PPCL, purchasing a 10% share each.
The Kurdistan Gas Project was the first time that an international oil and gas company began producing gas in the KRI. To date, all of the gas produced by PPCL has been used for in-country power generation, providing affordable electricity in the KRI. The Khor Mor processing plant also produces natural gas liquids (NGL or gas condensate) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), which are sold to the KRG and local traders.
Initially, the Khor Mor plant produced around 300 million standard cubic feet per day (MMscf/d). Following a number of process improvements at the Khor Mor gas plant, including a bypass project completed in 2020 and two debottlenecking projects in 2018 and 2022, production capacity was boosted by more than 60%, from 305 MMscf/d in 2018 to 500 MMscf/d at the end of 2022. Further de-bottlenecking enhancements in 2023 enabled a then-record daily production output of 525 MMscf/d in March 2025, representing a 75% growth since 2017.
In October 2025, production capacity was expanded to 750 MMscf/d following the successful completion and commissioning of the KM250 Gas Expansion Project at Khor Mor. Production reached approximately 700 MMscf/d in December 2025 and continues to ramp up through Q1 2026.
The uninterrupted supply of gas to power plants in Erbil, Chemchemal and Bazian provides fuel for over 75% of the KRI’s electricity generation capacity, benefiting more than six million people. This has resulted in major fuel cost savings through diesel substitution and delivered significant environmental benefits, including emissions savings of 42 million tonnes of CO2. Pearl Petroleum continues to voluntarily offset its annual emissions, making KRI operations one of the first carbon-neutral oil and gas production businesses in the Middle East.
Total investments in the KRI to date exceed US$3.5 billion, creating more than 20,000 direct and indirect job opportunities in the region.
Operations are predominantly staffed by local nationals, who represent nearly 85% of the workforce. Local staff continue to be trained to increase this further. The company also maintains a long-standing commitment to local communities, including power supply to neighbouring communities and various health, education and infrastructure programmes over the years.
The uninterrupted supply of gas to power plants in Erbil, Chemchemal and Bazian provides fuel for over 80% of the KRI’s power generation. It has resulted in significant fuel cost savings through substitution of diesel representing both environmental and economic benefits for the Kurdistan Region and Iraq as a whole. The displacement of diesel fuel for power generation with gas has enabled emissions savings of 42 million tonnes of CO2, equivalent to the combined GHG emissions from 9 million passenger vehicles driven for one year.
Operations are predominantly staffed by local nationals, which represent over 80% of the workforce. Local staff continue to be trained to increase this further. The company has a long history of contributing directly to local communities, including supply of local power to neighbouring communities and various health, education and infrastructure programmes, which continued in 2022.
In 2025, Pearl’s production in the KRI increased by 2% year on year to 111.8 kboepd (39.1 kboepd for Dana Gas), consisting of 506 MMscf/d sales gas, 15,000 bbl/d condensate and 1,060 MTPD of LPG.
During 2025, cumulative production from Khor Mor surpassed 500 million barrels of oil equivalent (Mmboe) in natural gas and liquids.
The significant reserves in Khor Mor and Chemchemal were independently audited by GCA in May 2019. Their report showed that Dana Gas’ share of the Khor Mor and Chemchemal 2P reserves was 4.4 Tscf gas, 136 MMbbl condensate and 13.3 million MT of LPG. The report showed that Dana Gas reserves increased by 10% to 1,087 MMboe. Part of the increase in reserves was due to the booking of 18 MMbbl of oil reserves for the first time in the Kor Mor field. This places the Khor Mor and Chemchemal fields among the biggest gas fields in the whole of Iraq, making them world-class assets.
Expansion Activities
The Company’s expansion strategy in the KRI targets production in excess of 1 billion scf/d of gas and 35,000 bbl/d of condensate through the addition of two new processing trains, each with a capacity of 250 MMscf/d.
KM250 Gas Expansion Project
In 2019, Pearl signed a 20-year Gas Sales Agreement with the KRG to enable production and sales of an additional 250 MMscf/day under the “KM250 project”. Pearl Petroleum announced the start of commercial gas sales from the KM250 facility at Khor Mor in October 2025. The project added 250 MMscf/d of new capacity, raising total processing capacity to 750 MMscf/d.
The additional volumes will support the region’s growing power demand while supplying cleaner and more efficient fuel. The facility will also produce approximately 7,000 bbl/d of condensate and 460 tonnes per day of LPG, supplementing existing production.
Production reached approximately 700 MMscf/d in December 2025, with output expected to ramp up during 2026 and achieve full capacity upon commissioning of the government-backed common-user pipeline, anticipated in the second half of 2026.
Chemchemal Field
Building on the substantial potential of the Chemchemal field, Pearl Petroleum has initiated appraisal activities targeting the Chemchemal Cretaceous reservoir, with plans to commence production of up to 75 MMscfd. The partners have committed $160 million to drill three wells, install an extended well test (EWT) facility, and construct associated enabling infrastructure.
In January 2026, Pearl Petroleum signed long-term gas sales agreements to supply up to 142 MMscf/d to six industrial customers in the KRI.
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