Dana Gas, a leading natural gas company in the region, has reported a net profit of $7 million for the second quarter (Q2) of the year, similar to the $7 million in Q2 2015.

Revenue was $96 million (Dh351 million) as compared to $116 million (Dh425 million) in Q2 2015.  The reduction was due to the decline in comparable hydrocarbon prices, which was offset by a combination of certain interest and one-off charges, reversals in provisions and a gain on the buy-back of the ordinary sukuk, a statement said.

The company also received an $8 million (Dh29 million) contribution from the Zora field in the UAE and a revenue boost from incremental production during the quarter in Egypt.

For the first half of 2016, Dana Gas reported revenues of $178 million (Dh652 million) compared to $231 million (Dh847 million) in the same period in 2015.  The reduction was again principally due to the sharp decline in hydrocarbon prices.

Net profit was $13 million (Dh48 million) compared to $19 million (Dh69 million) in H1 2015.  The fall in revenues was balanced by lower G&A and operating costs as well as investment and finance income.

Dr Patrick Allman-Ward, CEO of Dana Gas, said: “We continue to make good progress with our operations by reducing costs and increasing production. Notable has been the increase in production from our Egyptian fields, which is now at the maximum capacity for the gas processing plant.”

“We are currently drilling the deep Oligocene exploration well onshore Nile Delta and we anticipate that the well results will be known before year-end. During the period, we continued to maintain a steady collections rate and we have $344 million of cash at mid-year. However, the overall business environment remains challenging. In September the next phase of the arbitration case with the KRG will take place in which all of the outstanding contractual issues will be resolved,” he added. – TradeArabia News Service