Dana Gas is a 35 percent shareholder in Pearl Petroleum and accordingly its share of the Kurdish region collections year-to-date is $53 million, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

Of Pearl Petroleum’s total collections this year, $24.6 million was received in respect of overdue receivables, of which Dana Gas’s share was $8.6 million. Pearl Petroleum’s overdue receivables from the Kurdistan Region stand at $42 million following the most recent payment, with Dana Gas’s share at $14.8 million.

At the current oil prices the balance of the region overdue receivable is expected to be settled during the third quarter of this year.

A significant production increase in the KRI occurred in the fourth quarter of 2020 after the Khor Mor by-pass debottlenecking project was completed in July. The Company has continued to deliver solid operational performance in the first three months of 2021.

Gross gas production in the Kurdistan Region increased by 12 percent to an average of 439 MMscf/d in the first quarter compared to 391 MMscf/d in the same period last year. This helped contribute to a 9 percent increase in total Group production to 35,300 boepd in the first quarter of 2021 versus 32,400 boepd in the first three months of 2020.

Dr. Patrick Allman-Ward, CEO, Dana Gas, said, "We are very pleased with the robust performance from our assets in the KRI [Kurdistan Region of Iraq] in the first three months of the year, which at current oil prices will have a very positive impact on our profitability. Given the Kurdistan Regional Government’s continued commitment to pay down past receivables, we expect to receive the balance of overdue receivables from the KRI mid-year or shortly thereafter."

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