Dana Gas blames Oil Prices, Egypt charge for Q4 Loss

Abu Dhabi-listed Dana Gas reported a fourth-quarter loss on Thursday that the company blamed on lower oil prices and a fall in the value of its oil and gas assets in Egypt.

The Sharjah-based company, which operates in Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Iraq’s Kurdistan region, made a net loss of 15 million dirhams ($4 million) in the three months to Dec. 31, down from a profit of 128 million a year earlier.

Dana’s Chief Executive Patrick Allman-Ward told reporters on a conference call that should oil prices recover, the company could reverse the $22 million impairment charge booked in the fourth quarter relating to its Egyptian assets.

Oil prices have tumbled because of oversupply and weak demand, with Brent crude oil trading at $53.29 a barrel at 0625 GMT on Thursday, down 54 percent from 2014’s June high of $115.71.

Dana’s 2014 net profit was 457 million dirhams, down from 571 million dirhams in 2013.

Its full-year gross revenue rose 5 percent to 2.5 billion dirhams as production in Egypt and Kurdistan increased. The company’s average output in 2014 was 68,900 barrels of oil equivalent per day, up 6 percent from a year earlier.

“Our short-term focus is on increasing production further,” Allman-Ward said in a statement.

“Our long-term focus is on three new onshore and offshore blocks in Egypt and developing our Khor Mor and Chemchemal gas fields in Kurdistan.”

Total production will rise 10 percent, largely from a gas production enhancement agreement in Egypt and a gas project in the UAE, he said.

Source: Reuters