London-listed Gulf Keystone (GKP) became the last international oil company (IOC) exporting oil from Iraqi Kurdistan to confirm receipt of payment on 19 February. And it’s good news as shareholder concerns over late payment were washed away by details of a bumper payout. The firm as a result committed to make the necessary investments to ramp up production at GKP’s Shaikan field.
With the Kurdistan Regional Market (KRG) shifting this month to paying IOCs according to the terms of their production sharing contracts, GKP’s payment looked set to fall by at least a third – in line with fellow IOCs Genel and DNO (MEES, 12 February). And things looked ominous when the KRG’s self-declared ‘ten working-days from the end of the month’ payment deadline came and went without payment. It’s now clear that this was due to behind the scenes negotiations. (CONTINUED - 378 WORDS)
