14th Dec 2015 12:27
LONDON (Alliance News) - Genel Energy PLC Monday said it has received a further payment from the Kurdistan regional government for the oil it has exported from its operations in Iraq to Turkey, suggesting payments from authorities are becoming more regular and stable.
Oil producers in Iraq have been negotiating with the regional government since 2014 over payments for the oil exported through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline, with London-listed producers Genel and Gulf Keystone Petroleum PLC both chasing substantial back-payments.
The most recent payment received by Genel was for USD30.0 million, of which USD16.5 million is net to Genel. It is the third consecutive month Genel has received a payment from authorities - suggesting payments are becoming more regular. However the company is still trying to establish a formal payment agreement to ensure the payments keep coming in.
Genel's production in the country comes from its interest in the Taq Taq field.
At the end of October, Genel was owed a total of around USD400.0 million from the regional government, meaning it is owed money for previous exports but also for the ongoing exports from its field. To put that into perspective, the regional government was thought to owe around USD700.0 million to all foreign producers of oil exporting crude back in October.
Gulf Keystone, which has also been receiving regular payments over the last few months, has previously said the regional government has vowed the arrears owed to Gulf Keystone would be "considered for payment" sometime in 2016, suggesting Genel could also be set to potentially secure historic payments next year.
Genel shares were down 3.0% to 188.25 pence per share on Monday afternoon.
By Joshua Warner; [email protected]; @JoshAlliance
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