AE-based Dana Gas announced this week that Pearl Petroleum – a consortium consisting of Dana Gas (35%), Crescent Petroleum (35%), OMV (10%), Mol (10%), RWE (10%) – has restarted work to expand the 400mn cfd Khor Mor gas field in Iraqi Kurdistan following Covid-19 delays announced earlier this year (MEES, 14 August).

The two-train expansion was set to bring capacity to 650mn cfd by Q1 2022 and 900mn cfd by 2023, but the firm now says the first 250mn cfd expansion to 650mn cfd won’t be online until Q1 2023, though it is “examining ways to reduce the schedule further.” Dana Gas also noted that the key gas project, the region’s sole non-associated gas field, ran at max capacity in Q4 – even reaching a record 430mn cfd this month.

The update also gave a figure for the outstanding debts the KRG owes Pearl, $30mn, for non-payment between November 2019 and February 2020. This figure brings total receivables owed to foreign operators to a whopping $873mn – further compounding the KRG’s financial woes as it enters 2021 (MEES, 24 December).