Books revised for Dana Gas after Kurdish dust-up

Feb. 20 (UPI) -- Emirati energy company Dana Gas said it revised its 2016 results to show a net loss following arbitration with the Kurdish government of Iraq.

Dana Gas said it would replace a reported net profit for 2016 of $33 million with a net loss of $88 million because of the outcome of its arbitration with the semiautonomous Kurdish government.

A London court of arbitration ordered the Kurdish government to pay $121 million to a consortium for breaching an agreement related to appraisal work. Dana's loss may be tied to entitlements to Pearl Petroleum, in which Dana has a 35 percent stake.

By Dana's accounts, its consortium partners have investment more than $1 billion in the Kurdish north of Iraq.

"The companies sincerely hope that contractual commitments, as confirmed beyond any doubt by the tribunal's findings and clear award, will now be adhered to so that these world class hydrocarbon resources can be further properly developed for the benefit of the people of the Kurdistan Region and all of Iraq," it said last week.

Dana in late 2015 said the Kurdish government owed it and its partners more than $11 billion for interfering with operations at the Khor Mor and Chemchemal fields in northern Iraq.

The semiautonomous Kurdistan Regional Government made a counterclaim of around $3 billion. The government characterized previous statements by Dana Gas as "selective and misleading."