NSGB to pay cash dividend Egypt s National Societe Generale Bank (NSGB), Egypt s fourth-biggest bank by assets, approved a dividend of LE 1.25 ($0.2) per share, the stock exchange said on Sunday. The dividends will be paid starting April 22, the firm s statement to the stock exchange said. NSGB s 2009 net profit rose 4.1 percent to LE 1.18 billion ($215 million). In 2009 the bank paid a dividend of LE 0.9. -Reuters Apache s Egypt well shows positive results Apache Corp. (APA) said Thursday that the West Kalabsha I-1X well in Egypt s Western Desert showed encouraging results when tested. The well, located in the Faghur Basin exploration area, had a flow rate of 4,554 barrels of oil and 10.1 million cubic feet of natural gas a day. Apache is working to increase production in the area to 40,000 barrels a day in late 2010, up from 8,100 barrels a day. The results highlight the importance of the Houston company s international operations in its campaign to grow production 5 percent to 10 percent this year. The growth will be driven by discoveries in Egypt and Western Australia. In 2009, Apache produced 290,000 barrels of oil a day and 1.8 billion cubic feet a day. The independent oil and gas producer has said that it plans to spend $2 billion this year on exploration projects and acquisitions. Apache owns a 100 percent contractor interest in the West Kalabsha concession.-Dow Jones Sea Dragon raises bought deal offering to C$57 mln Canadian oil explorer Sea Dragon Energy Inc raised its bought-deal size to C$57 million ($55.8 million) as it plans to sell C$12 million more shares to the underwriters. The company raised the number of shares it would sell by 30 million to 142.5 million shares, at 40 Canadian cents a piece, it said in a statement. The offer price represents a discount of about 7 percent to the stock s closing price Thursday. The underwriters are co-led by GMP Securities LP and Thomas Weisel Partners Canada Inc. Sea Dragon intends to use proceeds from the offering partly to pay the balance of an earlier acquisition. On Jan. 13, Sea Dragon said it would buy a 50 percent working interest in the Kom Ombo Area Block-2 in Egypt for $45 million from natural gas company Dana Gas Egypt Ltd. The company said it would pay the remaining $35 million of payment to Dana Gas Egypt using the proceeds from the issue. The offering is expected to close on or about April 19 and it would also be extended to qualified institutional buyers in the United States. -Reuters Egypt key driver for oil and gas US oil and gas explorer Apache announced its latest discovery in the Faghur Basin in the Western desert of Egypt encountered 105 feet of net hydrocarbon pay. Apache Corp. announced the West Kalabsha I-1x discovery in the basin had a test flow rate of more than 4,500 barrels of oil and 10.1 million cubic feet of natural gas. Tom Voytovich, the vice president of Apache for Egypt, said the discovery solidifies the resource potential for his company s operations in the country. West Kalabsha is proving to be a fertile hunting ground, he said. With the ongoing infrastructure expansion, the time from concept to actual production should be shortened dramatically. Cairo announced in February that it signed formal agreements with Apache for prospecting rights in the deserts in the west of the country. Apache estimates the region has as much as 50 million barrels of oil equivalent. Expansion of transportation infrastructure in the region could expand production capacity from 8,100 barrels per day to 40,000 bpd by late 2010, the company added. Oil production from Egypt is expected to be a key driver for Apache s activity in 2010, the company said. -UPI Eipico to pay cash, share dividends Shareholders in Egyptian International Pharmaceutical Industries Co (Eipico), approved a dividend of LE 1.1 ($0.2) per share and one free share for every 10 owned, the firm said on Sunday. The dividends will be paid during the last week of April, said finance chief Mohamed Nader. Eipico, Egypt s biggest drug exporter, previously reported a 15 percent rise in 2009 net profit to LE 285 million. In 2009, the company paid a dividend of LE 2. -Reuters Faisal Islamic Bank to pay cash dividend Faisal Islamic Bank of Egypt approved a dividend of LE 1.646 ($0.299) per share for stocks issued in Egyptian pounds and $0.3 for stocks issued in dollars, the stock exchange said on Sunday. The payment date will be April 18, the stock exchange said. Faisal Islamic Bank of Egypt s net profit rose 45 percent to LE 123.8 million in 2009 from LE 85.2 million a year earlier. -Reuters HED: Ezz Dekheila Steel to pay cash dividend Egypt s Al Ezz Dekheila Steel, a unit of Ezz Steel, approved a cash dividend of LE 37 ($6.72) per share, the stock exchange said on Sunday. The payment date will be April 22, the stock exchange said. Al Ezz Dekheila Steel posted a 78 percent decline in its 2009 consolidated net profit to LE 641.7 million. -Reuters
