Lower realised hydrocarbon prices dragged down the profits of Dana Gas, the region’s largest private sector natural gas company with exploration and production assets in Egypt, Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) and UAE.
In filing its financial results for the quarter ended 31 March 2024 with Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), Dana Gas said it generated revenue of AED356 million ($97 million) and net profit of AED139 million ($38 million), down 24 percent. In Q1 2023, the company’s profit stood at AED183 million ($50 million).
Group production in the quarter averaged 56,750 boepd, a 10 percent decrease compared to 62,900 boepd in Q1 2023, and a 2 percent increase on a quarter-on-quarter basis.
KRI production was at 38,600 boepd, continuing the momentum from the end of last year when it achieved record gas output of 520 MMscf/d. Production in Egypt declined 25 percent to 18,150 boepd from 24,200 in Q1 2023 due to natural field declines.
The company’s cash position stood at AED513 million ($140 million), including AED425 million ($116 million) held at the Pearl Petroleum joint venture in KRI.
Drone attack at Dana Gas KRI plant
Dana Gas’ facility in the Khor Mor in KRI was recently the target of a drone terror attack that resulted in fatalities. Production was fully restored in a matter of days following commitments to significantly enhance security and strengthen defences by Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). This incident may potentially impact the completion schedule of the KM250 project.
Richard Hall, CEO of Dana Gas, commented: “It saddens me greatly to report the tragic fatalities and injuries following an incident at our Khor Mor field. We express our deepest condolences to the families.
“The gas plant was temporarily taken offline as we sought commitments for additional security measures from the Governmental authorities before fully restoring production. Prior to the incident, we realised profits during the quarter despite lower condensate prices and reduced output from Egypt.
“In the KRI, we posted strong production numbers as our plant continues to produce above the 500MMscf/d level it had reached at the end of last year. We have also made significant progress in improving our receivables in the KRI as a result of the new payment mechanism registered last year, which continues to operate seamlessly. This has allowed Pearl to resume dividend payments to the Company.”
The group collected a total of AED279 million ($76 million) during the first quarter, with the KRI and Egypt contributing AED246 million ($67 million) and AED33 million ($9 million) respectively. Its receivables in KRI stands at AED 334 million ($91 million) and in Egypt at AED 209 million ($57 million) at the end of the quarter.
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