UAE’s Dana Gas Says No Impact On Iraqi Kurdistan Ops From Fighting

Abu Dhabi-listed energy firm Dana Gas, one of the largest oil and gas investors in Iraqi Kurdistan, said on Sunday its operations there had not been affected by fighting elsewhere in the country in recent days.

The insurgent offensive that has threatened to dismember Iraq spread to the northwest of the country on Sunday, after fighters belonging to the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant and other Sunni Muslim armed groups seized Mosul and stormed several towns on the road to Baghdad last week.

Shares in Dana Gas dropped 4.8 per cent on Sunday as part of a wider rout in Gulf stock exchanges that was partly due to the news from Iraq. Abu Dhabi’s bourse slumped two per cent.

“Dana Gas’ operations in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq continue uninterrupted in light of recent events in Iraq. All our facilities and people are safe and there have been no incidents affecting our operations,” Dana said in a statement to Reuters.

Iraqi Kurdistan provided 29,300 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) to Dana Gas in the first quarter of 2014 out of the company’s total production of 68,800 boepd, according to company data.

However, the company has struggled to secure payments from its Kurdistan business, with non-payment prompting it to file an arbitration case in London last October against the regional government.