UAE-based independent Dana Gas on 29 July issued a statement on the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange (ADX), confirming earlier Reuters reports that the firm had hired Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. to advise it on the sale of its Egyptian assets worth some $500mn. The move would leave Dana near-100% exposed to Iraqi Kurdistan (MEES, 2 August).

This came on the same day that it confirmed to the ADX that its highly anticipated drilling campaign offshore Egypt, at its Merak prospect, just 10km from the border with Gaza, “did not encounter commercial hydrocarbons.” The North El Arish Block, which houses Merak, is Dana’s only offshore Egyptian acreage. Pre-drilling, Dana ambitiously estimated reserves of up to 20tcf, saying that Merak shared similar geophysical attributes to Israel’s large 11tcf Tamar and 22tcf Leviathan fields (MEES, 14 June). (CONTINUED - 337 WORDS)