ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Dana Gas has received a total of $43.75 million in dividends for condensate and LPG sales in the Kurdistan Region through investor Pearl Petroleum during the first half of 2018, including a $7 million payment for the month of June.

Exploration and expansion plans are also on track with expectations of production output to increase by 25 percent in the third quarter of 2018, Dana Gas announced on Sunday.

“Since the settlement agreement signed by Pearl Petroleum with the KRG, all payments have been received in a timely manner in KRI without any current outstanding receivables,” the statement read.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and Pearl Petroleum reached a settlement worth around one billion US dollars in August of last year, which put an end to years of disputes regarding payments.

Looking to stabilize its electricity generation in early 2018, the KRG signed a 10-year gas sales agreement on January 30 to increase gas production at Khor Mor field, the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) and Dana Gas announced in March.

The Pearl Petroleum consortium, led by Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum, aims to increase its gas production at Khor Mor and Chemchemal fields by a further 125 percent within two years.

The dividends received by Dana Gas are separate from cash-flow funds Pearl Petroleum keeps to sustain current exploration and drilling operations as well as $140 million allocated to future development operations and investments.

Pearl Petroleum is the largest investor in the Kurdistan Region’s gas sector, according to Dr. Patrick Allman-Ward, CEO of Dana Gas.

The KRG has received regular criticism from the population because of irregular electricity supplies.

Rudaw