LONDON (Alliance News) - Genel Energy PLC on Monday said it has received a further payment from the Kurdistan regional government of Iraq for the oil it exported out of the country in January and a backpayment for oil that was previously exported out of the country.
Genel and its partner on the Tawke field have been paid USD18.0 million for the oil it exported from the field out of the country via the Iraq-Turkey pipeline in January. That payment is further to the USD16.3 million received last week for oil exports from Genel's Taq Taq field, with Genel receiving a USD9.0 million share.
Genel also said the regional government has made a further payment of USD3.5 million for oil that has been previously produced and exported from the field, building on a USD1.8 million backpayment received last week for oil previously exported from the Taq Taq field.
Genel has been receiving monthly payments for the oil currently being exported from the regional government for the last five months, but January was the first to see the regional government begin to make backpayments to foreign oil producers in the region.
Genel is owed a considerable sum in backpayments from the regional government, just under USD400.0 million. The regional government owes more in backpayments to Genel than any other foreign company operating in the region, including fellow London-listed producer Gulf Keystone Petroleum PLC - which is also owed money.
Gulf Keystone had previously said the regional government planned to begin clearing the debt owed to foreign companies during 2016, and Genel last Friday said the government will increase the backpayments being made as oil prices rebound.
Both Genel and Gulf Keystone have been trying to form a formal payment system for the oil it exports out of Iraq, and although no formal deal has been struck, payments have remained consistent over the last five months providing both companies with some certainty and visibility, and the government's move to begin clearing its debt to foreign producers will be a very welcome boost.
Genel failed to hit its revenue or production target in 2015 and warned last month that revenue and production were both expected to fall steeply this year thanks to lower oil prices.
By Joshua Warner; joshuawarner@alliancenews.com; @JoshAlliance
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Gulf Keystone Petroleum (GKP)
Genel Energy (GENL)