Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum, who operate gasfields in Iraq's Kurdistan region, denied accusations they breached an agreement with regional authorities by supplying gas to Iraq’s Electricity Ministry.
The two companies acted in accordance with their “contractual rights and continue to respect its obligations in full”, Dana Gas said on Friday in a statement to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, where its shares are traded.
It added that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) was aware of its gas sales agreement with the Iraqi ministry and was provided with a copy of the deal.
“This follows years of discussions and efforts by the company, of which the KRG was regularly updated, and the KRG Ministry of Natural Resources was aware of the preparations for gas supply,” the statement added.
Kurdish authorities on Thursday claimed the companies supplied natural gas from the Khor Mor field to the Iraqi ministry without KRG approval. The authority said it was notified at the same time as the companies’ public announcement.
It added that the move was taken unilaterally and outside the contractual framework governing the Khor Mor project.
But Dana Gas said the agreement “did not require any additional authorisation or approval from the KRG". It also said the 100 million standard cubic feet per day (MMscf/d) of gas supplies to the Iraqi ministry in Kirkuk is from the company’s excess capacity at Khor Mor, and is in addition to the 655 MMscf/d of gas currently provided to the KRG for use in power stations.
“Despite all the challenges, the company stands by its obligations to the KRG and is committed to its operations and investments for the benefit of the people of the Kurdistan region and all of Iraq,” Dana Gas said.
The company said it had invested more than $4 billion since 2007 in the energy sector in the Kurdistan region.
