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By John Lee.
Three companies have reportedly stopped operations at Kurdistan’s Khor Mor gas field following rocket attacks.
According to Reuters, the companies are Texas-based Exterran, and Turkish subcontractors Havatek and Biltek.
The field is operated by Pearl Petroleum, a consortium led by UAE-based Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum.
(Source: Reuters)
The post Three Contractors “Quit” Khor Mor Field first appeared on Iraq Business News.
Dana Gas and its partner, Crescent Petroleum, have reported record sales gas production from their operations in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), reaching 452 million cubic feet of gas per day (MMscf/d) at the end of 2021.
The production milestone is the culmination of numerous process improvements at the Khor Mor gas plant, including a bypass project completed in 2020 as well as a de-bottlenecking programme earlier in 2018. Together, the process improvements have grown the production by 50% from 305 MMscf/d in 2018.
Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum jointly operate the Khor Mor and Chemchemal gas fields on behalf of the Pearl Petroleum consortium, supplying the gas which enables much needed electricity generation in the KRI, and also producing close to 16,000 barrels of condensate and 1,000 tonnes of LPG per day. The successful process improvements will be reinforced by the KM250 expansion project at the plant which is currently under implementation, and will increase total capacity by an additional 55% to 700 MMscf/d by April 2023.
Major works for the US$630 million KM250 expansion project resumed in April, 2021 after a delay of one year due to the COVID pandemic. The project is now on track for the new target start date of April 2023. As part of the expansion works, the Company is also preparing to drill up to five development wells, which are scheduled to commence production in March 2022.
The KM250 Gas Expansion Project is supported by a $250 million financing agreement for 7 years with the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) which was announced in September 2021. After completion of the KM250 project, the partners also plan a further KM500 train that would raise production to almost 1 billion cubic feet per day to meet rising demand for cleaner burning natural gas and electricity generation in the Kurdistan Region and all of Iraq.
Majid Jafar, CEO of Crescent Petroleum and Board Managing Director of Dana Gas, said:
“The achievement of this production milestone underscores the progress we continue to make at Khor Mor to meet the rapidly growing demand for natural gas in the KRI. Despite the challenges the whole world has faced over the past two years, we are proud to have continued delivering uninterrupted supply of clean-burning natural gas to support the KRI economy and enable a healthy recovery. Meanwhile our major expansion plans at the Khor Mor and Chemchemal fields to target 1 billion cubic feet per day in the coming few years will enable improved services across the region for years to come.”
Dr Patrick Allman-Ward (pictured), CEO of Dana Gas, said:
“This milestone is testament to our people and their hard work making consistent production growth possible at our Khor Mor gas plant. Our continued investments since 2018, notably the Khor Mor de-bottlenecking and bypass projects, have allowed us to deliver reliable supplies of clean energy to support the KRI economy and its people, with enhanced economic and environmental benefits which will increase as we further grow production.”
Total investment by the Pearl Petroleum consortium exceeds US$2.3 billion to date, with total cumulative production of over 360 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) of natural gas and liquids. The uninterrupted supply of gas to power plants in Erbil, Chemchemal and Bazian provides over 80% of the KRI’s power generation and 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 in the KRI with gas has also enabled emissions savings of 42 million tonnes of CO2, thereby making a major contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and reducing local air pollution in the region as well as supporting the transition to better energy sources to tackle global climate change.
(Source: Dana Gas)
The post Dana Gas achieves 50% Gas Production Growth in 3 yrs first appeared on Iraq Business News.
Pearl Petroleum, the consortium led by Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum of the UAE, has signed a $250 million financing agreement with the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to support the gas expansion works currently under way at the Khor Mor gas plant in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI).
DFC is the development finance arm of the U.S government and proceeds from the 7-year DFC financing will support an increase in gas production capacity by 50% to 690 million standard cubic feet (scf)/day to meet rising demand for clean natural gas for electricity generation and industry in the KRI. The total project cost is $630 million and the remaining financing has already been secured through a regional bank facility and the EPC contractor.
The KM-250 project is the first stage of a two-train expansion project at Khor Mor that aims to boost total production capacity to approach 1 billion scf/day. Work resumed in April 2021 after onsite construction was halted last year due to the COVID pandemic and is currently on track for completion by April 2023.
Total investment by Pearl Petroleum at Khor Mor to date exceeds US$2.1 billion with total cumulative production of over 341 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) in natural gas and liquids. The uninterrupted supply of gas to power plants in Erbil, Chemchemal and Bazian has resulted in significant fuel cost savings and economic benefits for the Kurdistan Region and Iraq as a whole.
The gas produced to date has enabled emissions savings of 42 million tonnes of CO2 by displacing diesel fuel in power generation in the KRI, thereby making a major contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and local air pollution in the region as well as supporting the transition to better energy sources to tackle global climate change.
Between 2018 and 2021, the Khor Mor Gas Plant also benefitted from a 45% production increase through an optimization of the facility bringing current total production to 106,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd). The project is today the largest regional private sector upstream gas operation in Iraq.
Mr. Majid Jafar (pictured), CEO of Crescent Petroleum and Board Managing Director of Dana Gas, commented:
“This financing agreement with DFC underscores the importance of developing the natural gas resources in the KRI to support regional economic development and growth. Despite the global challenges presented by the COVID pandemic, we have continued to maintain our record of uninterrupted operations and even managed to grow production. The DFC agreement is a testament to our successful track record and further highlights the potential of these resources and the bright future for the KRI.”
Dr. Patrick Allman-Ward, CEO of Dana Gas, added:
“With our partners in Pearl Petroleum we are proud to be further developing the gas sector of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, delivering expanded supply of cleaner energy, and supporting local economic development. This agreement underscores our continued confidence in the region and its long-term prospects.”
Mr. Dev Jagadesan, Acting CEO of DFC, said:
“DFC’s investment in the Khor Mor expansion will substantially increase access to energy for people all across the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. This highly developmental project represents the United States’ continuing investment in the KRI.”
In April 2007, Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum entered into an agreement with the KRG for exclusive rights to appraise, develop, produce, market, and sell petroleum from the Khor Mor and Chemchemal fields in the KRI. Production from a newly built plant at Khor Mor began just 15 months later, in October 2008, an industry record. In 2009, Pearl Petroleum was formed as a consortium with Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum as the majority shareholders, and with OMV, MOL, and RWE joining the consortium subsequently with a 10% share each.
Full-time staff at the operation number over 500, with over 85% local staff, including many in senior management positions. The companies have implemented a corporate social responsibility program to support local communities with equipment and supplies to deal with the COVID pandemic such as ventilators, sanitizers and protection equipment, in addition to a pledge to donate 100,000 vaccines to be administered in those local communities. This is in addition to ongoing support with local education, health and power supply as well as humanitarian aid for persons displaced from conflict zones as well as orphans. These initiatives assist the local communities in improving their standard of living, health, well-being, security and stability and the development of human capital.
(Source: Dana Gas)
The post Khor Mor gets $250m Financing from DFC first appeared on Iraq Business News.
By John Lee.
Dana Gas PJSC announced that its H1 2021 collections from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), and Egypt have increased 106% year-on-year to $185 million (AED 678m), the highest level in more than five years.
Dana Gas, which owns a 35% stake in Pearl Petroleum, saw its share of collections from sales of condensate, LPG and gas in the KRI jump 85% to $87 million in the first half 2021 as compared to $47 million in the same period the previous year.
The Company received cash dividends of $48.3 million from Pearl Petroleum over this period. For the same period, the Dana Gas share of Pearl Revenue was $87 million, EBITDA $74 million, Net Income $57.4 million, Cash Balances $61 million and Gross Debt $93 million.
The Company share of total KM 250 expansion CAPEX is $220 million, which will be funded at the Pearl level. Dana Gas share of Pearl Petroleum production for the first half 2021 averaged 150 MMscf/d of gas, 5,250 bbls/d condensate and 350 MT/d of LPG.
In Egypt, Dana Gas collected $98 million during H1 2021, compared to $43 million received in the same period of 2020, representing a 128% increase.
Dr Patrick Allman-Ward, CEO of Dana Gas, said:
“This is one of our best collection periods in the past several years, driven and supported by the strong rebound in oil prices. The respective governments of both the KRI and Egypt are meeting their payment obligations, ensuring the petroleum industry investors are receiving their current monies on time and catching up on overdue payments.
“This provides us with the confidence to reinvest in our operations, notably in the KRI where our expansion plans are well underway. We are in the process of constructing our new KM250 gas train which is on track for first gas in Q2 2023. In Egypt, we continue to work diligently to maintain production and to prepare for drilling our exciting exploration well in our offshore Block 6 Concession Area which holds material potential of over 20 Tcf of gas resources.“
(Source: Dana Gas)
The post Dana Gas Expansion Plans “Well Underway” in Kurdistan first appeared on Iraq Business News.
Dana Gas and its partner Crescent Petroleum have announced the full resumption of the expansion project at the Khor Mor field in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), which the companies jointly operate on behalf of the Pearl Petroleum consortium.
The KM250 expansion involves further investment of US$600 million to add 250 million cubic feet per day of much-needed additional gas production to supply the local power stations. The project construction work had been put on hold due to the COVID pandemic but is now on track for a new target start date of April 2023, after agreement to lift the force majeure with both the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the contractor [Exterran].
Under a Gas Sales agreement signed in March 2019 with the KRG Ministry of Natural Resources, Pearl Petroleum will sell the additional quantities of gas to supply the power stations with affordable and environmentally cleaner fuel, and further enhance electricity supplies. Today over 80% of the KRI’s electricity generation is enabled by the gas produced by the companies.
Current production at the Khor Mor field is 440 million cubic feet per day of natural gas as well as 15,700 barrels per day of condensate and 1,020 tonnes of liquified petroleum gas (LPG), or a total of 110,400 barrels of oil equivalent (boe) per day, making it the largest overall producer in the KRI and the largest private sector upstream gas operation in Iraq. After the KM250 train, there are plans to add a further KM500 train which would take production to almost 1 billion cubic feet per day by 2024.
Total investment to date exceeds US$2 billion with total cumulative production of over 332 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe), which has resulted in significant fuel cost savings and economic benefits for the Kurdistan Region and Iraq as a whole. In addition 43 million tonnes of CO2 emissions have been eliminated by displacing liquid fuels, which in turn has made a positive contribution to tackling global climate change as well as reducing local air pollution.
Mr. Majid Jafar, CEO of Crescent Petroleum and Board Managing Director of Dana Gas, commented:
“After a year of delay due to the COVID pandemic, we are pleased to fully resume the KM250 expansion project to invest US$600 million and grow the gas production almost 60% within 2 years from now, supporting the local electricity provision even further. Despite the challenges the whole world has faced over the past year we have kept our operations safe and managed to grow production and we are grateful to all our staff and to the KRG for its support.”
Dr. Patrick Allman-Ward, CEO of Dana Gas, added:
“With our partners in Pearl Petroleum we are proud to be investing further in the gas sector of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, delivering a reliable source of cleaner energy, and supporting local economic development. The continuing receipt of payments in a timely manner gives confidence for our continued investment commitment as we enter the next exciting phase of growth with the Khor Mor expansion, which will be carried out under strict health protocols to ensure the safety of our staff and service providers.”
(Source: Dana Gas)
The post Dana Gas Resumes $600m Expansion in Iraq first appeared on Iraq Business News.
Dana Gas has announced the production of sales gas from Pearl Petroleum‘s Khor Mor Gas Plant in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) reached a new record level of 430MMscf/d on 15 December 2020.
Fourth quarter’s average gas production as of 15 December 2020 is 400MMscf/d, an 8% increase on Q4 2019’s average production of 370MMscf/d.
Pearl Petroleum has also restarted expansion plans in the KRI on the 15 December. This follows the suspension of work in March 2020 due to Covid-19 restrictions. All parties working on the project are fully committed to executing the expansion project as quickly and as safely as possible.
The Company expects to complete the first 250 MMscf/d gas processing train in Q1 2023 and is also examining ways to reduce the schedule further.
In line with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) commitment to review the outstanding December 2019 to February 2020 invoices totalling $30 million, Dana Gas notes Pearl Petroleum’s confirmation of receipt of a payment plan proposal from the KRG to pay down past receivables during 2021 as long as Brent remains above $50/bbl.
Pearl Petroleum continues to engage constructively with the KRG on this matter to ensure timely payment. The KRG has maintained regular monthly payments since March 2020.
Dr Patrick Allman-Ward, CEO of Dana Gas, commented:
“Our joint operations at Pearl Petroleum continue to set new records with production output whilst maintaining an excellent HSSE track record, validating our long-term strategy to concentrate on further developing our world-class fields in the KRI. We are getting tremendous support from the KRG, which has given us the green-light to restart the civil engineering works under strict health protocols and controls.
“This clears a major hurdle and puts us on a path for first gas from the new train in Q1 2023. I am also pleased to provide an update on our Q4 average gas production, which is 8% higher at 400MMscf/d than in the same period last year.
“In addition, our commitment and contribution to the people of the KRI remains as strong as ever. Our partnership is now in its 12th year. 2020 has been very challenging due to the restrictions imposed by the global pandemic but the team has worked tirelessly to keep our operations ongoing throughout the year, adhering to strict health and safety protocol to ensure the continuous flow of gas to power the KRI’s electricity needs.”
(Source: Dana Gas)
The post Khor Mor Gas Plant reaches Record Production first appeared on Iraq Business News.
By John Lee.
UAE-based Dana Gas has announced that the production of sales gas from Pearl Petroleum‘s Khor Mor Gas Plant in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) reached a record level of 418MMscf/d on 18 November 2020.
Dana Gas, which owns a 35% stake in Pearl Petroleum, registered a 6% year on year increase in production during the third quarter of 2020 to 32,400 boepd, driven by the completion of a new plant bypass project in August.
Dr Patrick Allman-Ward, CEO of Dana Gas, commented:
“We are very pleased that Pearl Petroleum has achieved this important milestone at Khor Mor, which is the result of our continued efforts to maximise plant production. This important achievement, delivered under difficult conditions due to the global pandemic, was the result of the installation of the plant bypass in August combined with an increase in gas demand due to seasonal weather conditions.
“It is also testament to the tireless efforts of our staff at the plant to optimise plant efficiencies and reliability.
“We are also very pleased to announce that after a delay in the implementation of the first 250 MMscf/d gas processing train following border closures and travel restrictions resulting from COVID-19, that we anticipate recommencing civil engineering works on location in the next few weeks.
“All the parties working on the Khor Mor project are fully committed to executing the expansion project as quickly and as safely as possible. We now expect first gas from the project’s first gas processing train in Q1 2023 and we are also examining ways to reduce the schedule further. When implemented, the project is expected to add between $175 million and $200 million annually to Dana Gas’s revenues.“
(Source: Dana Gas)
The post Dana Gas announces Record Gas Deliveries for Khor Mor first appeared on Iraq Business News.
By John Lee.
UAE-based Dana Gas is reported to be considering spinning off its upstream business, which would include its 35-percent stake in Pearl Petroleum, which owns the righs to the Khor Mor (pictured) and Chemchemal fields in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI).
TradeArabia quotes Hamid Jafar, Chairman of Dana Gas, as saying:
“We are studying the feasibility of a demerger as we believe it could be value accretive for our shareholders.”
The new company would also be listed on the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange (ADX).
(Source: TradeArabia)
Dana Gas has announced that its share of the proved plus probable (2P) hydrocarbon reserves at Pearl Petroleum Company‘s Khor Mor (pictured) and Chemchemal fields in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) have increased by 10 percent following the recent certification of reserves by Gaffney Cline Associates (‘GCA’).
2P Reserves Upgrade
The independently audited report, prepared by Gaffney Cline on behalf of Pearl Petroleum, showed that the total share for Dana Gas (35% shareholder in Pearl Petroleum), is equivalent to 1,087 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMboe), up from 990 MMboe when GCA first certified the fields in April 2016.
This confirms that the fields located in the KRI could be the biggest gas fields in the whole of Iraq. The reserves were boosted in part by the booking of oil reserves in the Khor Mor Field for the first time.
GCA’s most recent report confirmed that Dana Gas’s share of the Khor Mor and Chemchemal 2P reserves was 4.4 trillion cubic feet gas (2016: 5.3 Tcf), 136 million barrels of condensate (2016: 109 MMbbls), 13.3 million metric tonnes LPG and 18 MMbls of oil, the equivalent of 1,087 MMboe, as compared to 990 MMboe in April 2016.
Dr Patrick Allman-Ward, CEO of Dana Gas, said:
“The Gaffney Cline report has independently confirmed Dana Gas’ 2P reserves in our KRI assets at over 1 billion barrels of oil equivalent and our belief that the Khor Mor and Chemchemal Fields will most likely be the biggest gas fields, not just in the Kurdistan Region Iraq, but the whole of Iraq, making them world-class assets.
“It is also satisfying to see that our auditors have formally booked oil reserves for the first time in Khor Mor. We believe that this is just the tip of the iceberg confirming our estimate of oil resource potential of over 7 billion barrels.
“These additional resource declarations will underpin our future development plans which will provide a reliable source of energy to meet the needs of electricity generation as well as industrial development in the region.”
Future Development
Earlier in the year, Pearl Petroleum signed a 20-year gas sale agreement with the Kurdistan Regional Government (‘KRG’) that will facilitate the production and sale of an additional 250 MMscf/d of gas.
Pearl Petroleum’s expansion plan will see output increase to 650 MMscf/day in 2022, and then to 900 MMscf/day by 2023 from the current 400 MMscf/day.
With the price of oil ranging between $60 to $70 per barrel, each of these two new gas production trains will generate between $175 to $200 million to the Company’s share of revenue and project’s cash flows per annum.
(Source: Dana Gas)
By John Lee.
The Iraq Britain Business Council (IBBC) has welcomed four new members, bringing its membership to 71 companies:
Crescent Petroleum: Sharjah-based Crescent Petroleum is the only foreign oil and gas company to maintain a continuous presence in Iraq for three decades, and is the largest private oil and gas investor in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
Sardar Trading Agencies (STA): One of the core companies of Sardar Group, with more than 50 years of experience in the Iraqi private business field, mainly in the automotive segment.
Stirling Education: The Luxembourg-based company is committed to providing excellent affordable education and pastoral care for students in Iraq. Across Iraq, they have around 17,000 students, 42 schools and two university campuses.
Tube Tech International: UK-based Tube Tech is a world leader in the removal of fouling from refinery, petrochemical and energy process assets.
(Source: IBBC)