Dana Gas, the Middle East’s first regional private-sector natural gas company, has posted preliminary results for its first annual reporting period of Dh812 million ($221 million) of net income, equating to 14 fils per share.
Total assets stood at Dh6.84 billion. The company has been undergoing an aggressive growth strategy throughout the region, including acquisitions and new project development, with the aim of establishing itself as a truly integrated natural gas company across the Middle East and North Africa
In addition to working on implementation of existing projects in the UAE, in 2006, Dana Gas acquired Centurion Energy for $950 million, which was completed on January 8, 2007, marking its strategic entry into exploration and production. The achievement places Dana Gas among the top seven gas producers in Egypt, providing it with reserves approaching 100 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) and further exploration potential of 26,300 square kilometres.
In addition, the company entered into a joint venture with Emarat to build, own and operate a 48-inch common-user gas pipeline with capacity of one billion cubic feet per day, to serve customers in the UAE; and completing a Bahraini acquisition to lead a consortium for development of the Gulf of Suez Gas Liquids Plant in partnership with the state-owned Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company, EGAS, with processing capacity of 150 million cubic feet per day of natural gas and production of approximately 120,000 metric tonnes per year of propane and butane in liquid form.
The year also saw Dana Gas enter into strategic alliances with companies from the region and internationally, including an alliance with Single Buoy Mooring (SBM) to develop a network of floating LNG receiving terminals, starting with a $200 million project in Pakistan.
Dana Gas has been pursuing expansion plans across the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region into all elements of the natural gas value-chain, including upstream exploration and production; through the midstream transmission and distribution of gas including LNG trading; and downstream into gas-related industries and petrochemicals.
Dana Gas has become the sixth highest gas producer in Egypt, through the activities of its exploration and production subsidiary, Centurion Energy.
The company is also among the nine highest producing companies by production of boe, out of the 64 companies active in Egypt’s oil and gas sector.
Centurion Energy was acquired by Dana Gas in a $950 million deal that cements Dana Gas’ important position in the upstream exploration and production sector for natural gas in the Middle East.
Centurion ended 2006 with estimated gas reserves of approximately 100 million boe, gas production of over 31,000 boe/day, and operating cash flows of approximately $90 million.
Dana Gas will also benefit from Centurion’s further exploration potential of 26,300 square kilometres in the Nile Delta and Upper Egypt, and has been approached by several of the major international energy companies for potential collaboration in this area.
In addition, Centurion provides Dana Gas with access to a team of over 150 highly skilled multidisciplinary management and technical staff, plus over 80 operations staff, with a proven track record in finding, developing, and producing natural gas reserves in the Middle East region.
Egypt’s proven natural gas reserves have doubled in the last five years to 70 trillion cubic feet, with gas production in the country now exceeding its oil production.
In a recent announcement, Egypt’s Petroleum Ministry said direct investment (FDI) in oil, gas and petrochemicals amounted to $9.5 billion.
The Ministry added that the target for the next five years is to secure FDI of $25 billion in petroleum projects.
By 2010 annual exports, mainly of gas and petrochemicals, are set to reach US $10 billion.
Centurion Energy, now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dana Gas and the company’s upstream division, is currently actively engaged in exploration and production operations from 10 development leases and four exploration licenses in Egypt, Tunisia, and offshore West Africa, and has offices in Cairo, London, and Calgary.
