UAE's Dana Gas "optimistic" on Egypt gas payment

UAE’s Dana Gas “optimistic” on Egypt gas payment

UAE energy firm Dana Gas said on Monday that its overdue receivables from Egypt for the gas delivered there has risen to around $200 million from $180 million previously and added that it was optimistic payments were coming.

September 27, 2011 12:36 by Reuters

“The payments were delayed in the previous months but now we are optimistic they are coming,” the company’s chief executive Ahmed Arbeed told Reuters on the sidelines of an industry conference in Manama said.

“They were $185 million, but in the previous month they reached around $200 million,” Arbeed said.

The delay in payments was a result of disagreements over the interpretation of certain production sharing agreement clauses with respect to the means of calculating profit share splits at different production level, the company had earlier said in a statement.

Dana Gas has significant investments in Egypt. A 20 percent rise in its Egypt and Iraqi operations coupled with higher oil prices have boosted the company’s revenues in the second quarter.

“We are continuing our operations in Egypt, no exit,” Arbeed said but he declined to give a timeline on when the payments would be made. (Reporting by Reem Shamseddine, Writing by Amena Bakr, Editing by Humeyra Pamuk)