Gulf Keystone Petroleum gets only partial payment for Iraqi exports

LONDON, June 27 (UPI) -- Iraqi oil player Gulf Keystone Petroleum said it received only part of the payment it billed the Kurdish regional government for crude oil exports in May.

The company said it received an $8 million payment for the crude oil it exported from the Shaikan field in the Kurdish north of Iraq for May.

"This is a partial payment of the invoiced amount and the balance is expected to be paid shortly," the company said in a statement Monday.

The invoice shortage is on par with payments for April. The company received an initial payment of $6 million, then $9 million more during first week of June to settle the account for April.

Gross crude oil exports sold from the Shaikan oil field in April averaged 40,840 barrels per day. The company gave no indication of the volume exported in May or the outstanding balance owed by the semiautonomous Kurdistan Regional Government.

The company at one point this year said it planned to move into the large-scale phased development of its Shaikan field in the Kurdish north of Iraq, targeting a production capacity of 110,000 barrels of oil per day.

In mid-June, the company, which lists London as its headquarters, extended an agreement with lenders for at least the second time this year. The company at the end of April said it was short of the necessary capital to keep output steady and 27 percent short of the funds necessary to raise production to its target rate.

At the time, the company said it reached a deal with a committee of holders of notes and bonds to enter into a "standstill agreement" on interest payments for April. It later extended that agreement until the end of May and now says the agreement will expire July 1.