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The UAE-based Dana Gas PJSC, the largest private sector natural gas company in the region, said Q1 2024 net profit fell 24% year-on-year (YoY) to $38 million mainly on lower realised hydrocarbon prices and lower production in Egypt.
The net profit was well shy of analysts’ mean estimate of $43.79 million, according to LSEG data.
For Q1, Dana Gas generated revenue of $97 million, down 20% YoY, the company said in a filing on Abu Dhabi's ADX on Wednesday.
Realised prices in Q1 averaged $44 per barrel for condensate and $35 per barrel of oil equivalent (boe) for liquid petroleum gas (LPG) compared with $59/bbl and $39/boe in Q1 2023, it said.
Group production in Q1 2024 averaged 56,750 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), a 10% drop YoY.
Dana Gas has exploration and production assets in Egypt, Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) and the UAE.
Production in Egypt declined 25% to 18,150 boepd in Q1 2024 due to natural field declines.
KRI production was flat YoY at 38,600 boepd, "continuing the momentum from the end of last year when it achieved record gas output of 520 MMscf/d", the company said.
Dana's cash position as of March 31 stood at $140 million, including $116 million held at the Pearl Petroleum joint venture.
Referring to the recent drone attack on a condensate storage tank in Khor Mor in KRI, the company said the incident "may potentially impact the completion schedule of the KM250 project".
In 2019 Dana Gas signed a 20-year Gas Sales Agreement with the Kurdistan Regional Government to enable production and sales of an additional 250 MMSCF/day known as the KM250 project. The KM250 expansion that is scheduled to deliver first gas in April 2024 involves a total investment of $806 million.
Richard Hall, who took over as CEO of Dana Gas in September 2023, said prior to the incident, the company realised profits during the quarter despite lower condensate prices and reduced output from Egypt.
(Reporting by Brinda Darasha; editing by Seban Scaria)
