DNO International ASA received a second payment of USD 60 million from the Kurdistan Regional Government in respect of oil exports from the Tawke field operated by the Company in northern Iraq. A first payment of USD 103.7 million was received in June 2011.

The Company had previously reported temporary reductions in production from the Tawke field to permit field performance evaluation. Reservoir monitoring efforts are ongoing but production has now been increased to 55,000 barrels a day. Drilling and testing of exploration wells continue on other DNO blocks in Kurdistan as do engineering studies to increase output capacity of the fields in the Tawke and Erbil licenses.

DNO has initiated efforts towards oil sales to regional refineries, a program that had been successfully implemented previously, but terminated when all production was earmarked for export in early February this year. The volume and value of domestic sales will depend on market conditions.

Tags: DNO International