UAE’s Dana Gas makes first sale under Egypt gas deal

UAE-based energy firm Dana Gas on Wednesday said it has shipped the first cargo of condensate from Egypt under the Gas Production Enhancement Agreement (GPEA).

The Abu Dhabi-listed firm will be paid $7.2 million, which will be used to start paying down the outstanding receivables owed to Dana Gas by the Egyptian government, it said in a bourse statement.

The first cargo of about 150,000 barrels of Wastani condensate was loaded on April 15, it added.

The GPEA was signed with the Egyptian government in August 2014.

“It was a landmark win-win deal at the time … We can now continue to directly sell and export condensate cargoes internationally,” Patrick Allman-Ward, CEO of Dana Gas, said in the statement.

“By maintaining our production rate of roughly 40,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, we expect to sell three additional cargoes in the next 12 months,” he added.

Allman-Ward said he is looking to get the settlement for the outstanding $289 million in the near future.

“Collections of our overdue receivables in general remain well below our expectations. We are yet to receive a significant payment this year,” he said.

In Q1 2017, collections in Egypt were $13 million, representing 52 percent of total billings, the statement said.

In Kurdistan, collections were $31 million, representing over 100 percent of total billings. Total receivable balance remains at $713 million, it added.