Dana Gas has achieved an increase in profits by 150% year-on-year (YOY) in Q1 2019, Mubasher reported.

The company’s net profit reached around $35 million in the three-month period that ended in March, up from $14 million in Q1 2018.

“We have started the year as we left off in 2018 with a strong operational focus and good financial results,” Patrick Allman-Ward, CEO of Dana Gas said.

According to Dana Gas, the main reason behind the surge in profits is the increase in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) production, which added $14 million to earnings, as well as cutting finance costs by $10 million in Q1 2019.

“Operationally, we have signed a 20-year gas sales agreement with the KRI which enables us to go ahead with our expansion plans to increase our production from the current 400 to 650 [million standard cubic feet per day] (mmscf/d) by 2021,” Allman-Ward added.

Dana Gas also views the offshore Merak well in Egypt, which holds a potential 4 to 6 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of natural gas, as a game-changer for the company, the CEO indicated.

On the other hand, the company’s revenues stood at $119 million during the first three months of 2019, compared to the $120 million achieved in the prior-year period, while production totaled 68,700 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d), rising by 6% YOY.