UAE's Dana Gas sees profits fall as receivables weigh

http://www.ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2013/11/invest932.htm November 4, 2013 DUBAI,— Dana Gas is continuing to struggle with large uncollected bills in Iraq as its profits fall and it pursues an arbitration case against the Kurdistan regional government KRG along with partners in a consortium that have significant operations there. Dana Gas made a net profit of 102 million dirhams ($27.8 million) in the third quarter compared with 104 million dirhams in the same period of last year, the United Arab Emirates energy company said on Monday. Gross revenues for the third quarter were 623 million dirhams, up 21 percent from 512 million dirhams a year ago. Delays in getting paid for operations in both Kurdistan and Egypt contributed to Dana having to restructure a $920 million Islamic bond in April and helped spark a legal battle with the Kurdistan region government KRG. Dana Gas said it had collected $8 million in Egypt during the third quarter but that the trade receivables from the North African country still grew to $298 million by the end of September, up from $262 million at the end of the second quarter. “We have been given strong indications by the Egypt government regarding planned payments in the next few months,” Dana Gas’ new chief executive Patrick Allman-Ward said. “We welcome this positive step as it will allow our capital and exploration expenditure to remain in-line with anticipated spending plans, allowing us to pursue our strategy of maximizing our production from these resources.” Egypt has struggled to meet its soaring energy bills over the last two years and owes energy companies a total of around $6.2 billion. In Kurdistan, Dana collected just $7 million in payments for fuel supplied to the autonomous region of northern Iraq during the third quarter,www.Ekurd.net so that payments due grew by $48 million over the three months to $450 million at the end of the third quarter. Dana, the largest oil and gas investor in Kurdistan, filed the first major legal case against the KRG over payments and production rights on Oct. 21. The Sharjah-based energy company saw its profit fall 45 percent in the second quarter of 2013, largely due to lower fuel sales prices and the mid-2012 shutdown of a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) plant in Iraq after a fire. Repairs to the Khor Mor LPG plant were completed in July. Dana’s average production volumes rose by 17 percent, year on year, to 66,850 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) in the third quarter, driven by a 30 percent rise in production in Egypt. However, net profit was reduced by higher royalty and depreciation charges. Dana’s share of production in the Kurdistan region of Iraq remained stable at 27,100 boepd. Copyright ©, respective author or news agency, Reuters | Agencies