Dana Gas, the Middle East's largest private natural gas firm, said its shareholders have approved the board of directors’ recommendation at the company’s Annual General Assembly to distribute a further 4.5 fils per share cash dividend for the second half of the financial year ended December 31, 2022.
Shareholders holding the shares as of May 4 will be eligible to receive the interim dividend. Payment to shareholders expected on May 25, said the company in a statement.
The payment will bring the total dividend payment for the year to AED630 million ($172 million) or 9 fils per share, a 12.5% increase compared to the dividend for 2021.
The increased payout reflects the Company’s strong operational performance for the year and also higher global energy prices.
Speaking at the AGM, Chairman Hamid Jafar said: "Our shareholders approved the proposal of the board of directors to pay out a dividend for the second half of 2022, reflecting our strong operating and financial performance throughout the year."
"This recommendation also reflects our deep-seated belief in the Company’s growth prospects, both in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, where our production has increased again and in Egypt, where we hope to maximise the value from our assets with the proposed concession consolidation," he noted.
The company reported its Q1 2023 production numbers, with average group production increased to 62,900 boepd. In the KRI, production output was 9.5% higher year-on-year for the first quarter, and 7.6% higher on a sequential quarterly basis.
This resulted from an increase in production capacity at the Khor Mor Gas Plant by 50 MMscf/d in the third quarter of 2022, following the successful completion of a further plant-debottlenecking project. As of January 2023, total production capacity stands at 500 MMscf/d, it stated.
With respect to the KM 250 gas expansion project in the KRI, Dana Gas has set a new target date of April 2024 for the first gas.
The company also announces that its affiliate, Pearl Petroleum, is considering different financing options for the KM-250 expansion project at the Khor Mor field, including a potential bond issue.-TradeArabia News Service
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