United Arab Emirates energy firm Dana Gas said on Monday payments from operations in Egypt and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) climbed 86 per cent in the first ten months of the year. Collections soared to $283 million for the ten months to the end of October 2021, from $152 million in the same period in 2020 due to an increase in oil prices, the company explained in a statement to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange. Brent, the international benchmark under which two thirds of the world's oil is traded, has surged more than 60 percent this year. Dana Gas chief executive Patrick Allman-Ward said the levels of collections in both Kurdistan and Egypt had been "exceptional over the first ten months of the year due to the rise in oil prices." "Continuing timely payment of invoices and the settlement of outstanding receivables is so important to providing us with the confidence to carry on with our expansion plans in the KRI and Egypt." Allman-Ward added. Oil prices have rebounded as demand for crude rose due to a strong recovery by the global economy, which slumped into its deepest recession since the 1930s amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Oil demand in 2021 is expected to grow by 5.8 million barrels per day, with global consumption reaching 96.6 million bpd, according to OPEC data in October. The oil producers' group, which will meet next Thursday, expects demand for 2022 to exceed pre-pandemic levels, to reach 100.8 million bpd. Dana Gas collected in Egypt $133 million during the first ten months of this year, a sharp growth from $68 million received in the same period in 2020, the statement read.
