Crescent Petroleum is the first and largest private upstream oil and gas company in the Middle East. Founded in 1971, Crescent Petroleum is headquartered in the Emirate of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (UAE), with current operations in both the UAE and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). As of 2023, Crescent Petroleum and the Iraqi Ministry of Oil have signed three twenty-year contracts as the company focus it efforts in aiding the redevelopment of Iraq.
Crescent Petroleum is also the founding and largest shareholder in Dana Gas, the first and largest publicly listed private-sector natural gas company in the Middle East.
The company is a subsidiary of Crescent Group, a diversified family business that includes Crescent Enterprises, a multinational company headquartered in the UAE, as the other main subsidiary. Crescent Petroleum's chairperson and founder is, Iraqi businessman Hamid Jafar its CEO is Majid Jafar.
History
Crescent Petroleum's emergence is linked to its offshore discoveries in the Mubarek field in 1972. In 1969, the UAE government granted the Mubarek field to concessionaire Buttes Gas & Oil Co. International Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Crescent Petroleum.
Setting the world record at the time, Crescent Petroleum had the Mubarek field in full production within 13 months from the discovery of the confirmation well, at a rate of over 60,000 barrels of oil per day. The project brought Sharjah into international recognition.
Crescent Petroleum's first international venture was in 1973, when it was granted the exploration rights for Block 1, an offshore area in present-day Montenegro, which was then part of Yugoslavia. It was followed in 1981 by concessions for a block in the San Jorge Basin of Argentina. In 1979, Crescent Petroleum discovered the Zora gas field—currently owned and operated by Dana Gas—off the coast of the United Arab Emirates.
In 1986, Crescent Petroleum obtained exploration concessions for blocks in the Potwar Basin in Pakistan, later forming a joint-venture with Amoco (today BP), which was held through to 1990. During the 1980s and 1990s, Crescent Petroleum secured additional concessions in Canada, France, Tunisia, Egypt, Pakistan, and Yemen. During the downturn in the energy sector in the 1990s, Crescent Petroleum made the decision to divest itself from its international positions and refocus attention on opportunities in the Middle East and North Africa region.
In 2002, Crescent Petroleum became the technical services provider for the Bukha field, offshore Oman. It was also the technical operator for concessions in Ajman, Umm Al Quwain and Ras Al Khaimah up until 2004.
Dana Gas was founded in 2005, with Crescent Petroleum as single-largest shareholder. The company's IPO was the most successful and largest IPO in the UAE's history, attracting more than US$2 billion from investors in over 50 countries. In 2007 Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum entered the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). The following year, Gas Cities was established as a joint-venture between Crescent Petroleum and Dana Gas. The new company was established to create industrial cities in the MENASA region (Middle East, North Africa and South Asia), which are designed to systematically use natural gas as fuel and feedstock for industrial projects.
From 2012 to 2014, Crescent Petroleum pre-qualified for various regional projects.
World Records
Crescent Petroleum has earned several operational world records including the deepest short radius horizontal section drilled and the deepest slim hole to be cased by expandable casing in 1992.
Corporate structure
Overview of corporate structure
The Iraqi family business group is led by Chairman Hamid Jafar with his two sons as key executives. Majid Jafar is Vice-Chairman of Crescent Group and Chief Executive Officer of Crescent Petroleum while Badr Jafar is Managing Director of Crescent Group, President of Crescent Petroleum, and Chief Executive Officer of Crescent Enterprises.
Current operations
Crescent Petroleum has current operations in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), and interests in Egypt through its affiliate Dana Gas. The company is headquartered in the UAE and has international offices in the UK and throughout Iraq. It currently operates in Iraq and the UAE.
Iraq
Crescent Petroleum has had a continuous presence in Baghdad for 30 years and has a special commitment to the country because of the Jafar family's roots. The company has offices in Erbil and Sulaymaniyah in northern Iraq.