Dana Gas said on Sunday it had won a favourable ruling from a London arbitration court in a long-winded dispute with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Iraq.
In October 2013, along with its consortium of companies — Crescent Petroleum and Pearl Petroleum – Dana filed a case to secure a ruling that confirms the companies’ contractual rights over the Khor Mor and Chemchemal fields.
The contract, which was signed with the KRG in April 2007 and is governed by English law, “had previously been disputed by the KRG since May 2009, preventing the proper and timely development of the fields”, Dana said.
However, on Sunday, the London court confirmed the consortium’s rights to develop and produce gas and petroleum products from the two fields “for the duration of the contract, or not less than 25 years”, the Sharjah-based firm added.
The tribunal also confirmed KRG’s obligation to pay the consortium for condensate and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) at international prices.
It further said it would convene on September 21st to decide on Dana’s claim for outstanding payments from the KRG totalling $1.943bn as of end-May 2015.
The remaining claims in the arbitration, including the consortium’s claims for wrongfully delayed development of the fields, will be heard in the first quarter of 2016, Dana said.
The Kurdish government still remains in default of the tribunal’s October 2014 ruling to pay the companies $100mn.
Dana has requested a separate hearing for this case scheduled for 28th and 29th October 2015 in the High Court of England.
Currently, the consortium produces an average of over 84,000 barrels of oil equivalent (boe) per day, including 335mn cubic feet per day of gas that is used for electrical power generation in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
The UAE firms have so far invested over $1.2bn in the region and produced 145mn boe of natural gas and petroleum liquids over a seven-year period, making them the largest investors and producers in the Kurdish oil and gas sector.
