MOL signs development plan for Kurdish energy

Hungarian energy company MOL said it agreed on a development plan to pull reserves from the Arki-Bijeel area in the Kurdish north of Iraq.

MOL and the Kurdish Ministry of Natural Resources formalized the field development plan to assess reserves, recovery and development of the reserve area.

"This shall greatly contribute to the production target set by the ministry of 1 million barrels of oil per day," Kurdish Natural Resources Minister Ashti Hawrami said

MOL said the development plan involves two phases with the end goal of producing 50 million barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2018 at the latest. MOL said it would work with its regional partners to realize what it said Friday was an ambitious production target.

The United Nations has issued a humanitarian alert for northern Iraq following a siege by Sunni-led insurgents with the Islamic State. Several international energy companies have pulled non-essential staff out of the region, but the impact on oil and gas production has so far been limited.

Thousands of members of a Christian minority have been trapped in the mountainous north of Iraq. The Kurdish government said in a statement international support is still needed to help address the situation.