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Sharjah: Abu Dhabi-listed Dana Gas said it plans to invest about $500 million in Egypt and Iraq's Kurdish province this year to boost output of natural gas, and is looking to enter Algeria.
Egyptian gas output would hold steady this year at a minimum 30,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), compared with 28,400 boepd in the third quarter of last year, Finance Director Neeraj Agrawal said in an interview in his office in Sharjah.
"In 2008, we are investing about $200 million in Egypt projects, including upstream and downstream," Agrawal said.
The company would invest about $500 million in Egypt and Kurdistan combined, he said.
"We should expect to maintain at least 30,000 boepd in 2008 and we should see the fruits in 2009," Agrawal said about Egyptian operations, the company's main source of revenue.
The investments will be in exploration, production, and petroleum transport and processing, he said.
"We are looking at some opportunities for more acquisitions and greenfield projects in Egypt and Algeria," Agrawal said.
"Algeria is a country we are focusing on," he said, declining to be more specific.
Kurdish output of natural gas should start before July, with the province surpassing Egypt this year as a source of revenue, Agrawal said.
Dana Gas, headquartered in Sharjah and listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Market (ADSM), is the first regional private-sector natural gas company in the Middle East, established with over 300 reputable founder shareholders from across the GCC region.
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