Genel Energy, the largest oil producer in Iraqi Kurdistan said it received an US$11 million payment from the Kurdistan Regional Government on Thursday as compensation for oil and energy purchases in the domestic market over the course of April 2016.
The payment represented less than half of the US$22.45 million that had been owed to the company by the local government.
Gulf Keystone also received a US$6 million partial payment for their products on Thursday, causing its London-listed stock to decrease by eight pence on Friday. Genel's stock dropped by more than six pence due to the underpayment.
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The Taq Taq field, from which Genel Energy pumped the oil, has been in production under the purview of the company since a multiyear investment program started in 2006, according to the company's website. The field sits around 60 kilometers (37 miles) northeast of the Kirkuk oil field and takes up 951 square kilometers of of land, with an average production rate of 116,000 barrels of oil per day.
The UK-based company has also been pushing the Turkish government to accept energy supplies from an underdeveloped field in Iraqi Kurdistan to reduce its reliance on Russian oil and natural gas, an April report by Ekurd Daily said. Turkey's relationship with its former all deteriorated in late 2015, after its air force shot down a Russian military aircraft.
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Russia provides for more than half of Turkey's current energy needs, but by 2020, Genel says it could provide Turks with 20 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year.
Genel's deal with the country would include provisions for the construction of a pipeline securely linking Turkey to its new regional supplier.
If Turkey accepts the deal, it could help the energy company regain its footing after losing a third of its market value last year and recording its largest-ever annual loss.
By Zainab Calcuttawala for Oilprice.com
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Zainab Calcuttawala is an American journalist based in Morocco. She completed her undergraduate coursework at the University of Texas at Austin (Hook’em) and reports on… More