UAE-based natural gas explorer has been given strong indications by the Egypt government regarding planned payments in the next few months, the company's new chief executive Patrick Allman-Ward said. Dana Gas said it had collected so far $8 million in Egypt during the third quarter but that the trade receivables from the North African country still grew to $298 million by the end of September, up from $262 million at the end of the second quarter. Delays in getting paid for operations in both Kurdistan and Egypt contributed to Dana having to restructure a $920 million Islamic bond in April and helped spark a legal battle with the Kurdish region government (KRG). Dana Gas reported on Monday AED102 million ($27.8 million) net profit in the third quarter compared with AED 104 million in the same period of last year. Gross revenues for the third quarter were AED 623 million, up 21% from AAED 512 million a year ago. "We welcome this positive step as it will allow our capital and exploration expenditure to remain in-line with anticipated spending plans, allowing us to pursue our strategy of maximizing our production from these resources," the top official told Reuters. Egypt has struggled to meet its soaring energy bills over the last two years and owes energy companies a total of around $6.2 billion. In Kurdistan, Dana collected just $7 million in payments for fuel supplied to the autonomous region of northern Iraq during the third quarter, so that payments due grew by $48 million over the three months to $450 million at the end of the third quarter. Dana, the largest oil and gas investor in Kurdistan, filed the first major legal case against the KRG over payments and production rights on Oct. 21.
