Kurdistan cash set to go elsewhere

The region’s main operators have oil price boom earnings burning a hole in their pockets, but they may well be largely deployed elsewhere

The three firms most prominent in Kurdistan’s oil sector are taking differing approaches to what to do with coffers bolstered by the sustained high price environment. UK-headquartered Gulf Keystone is aiming to boost production from its key asset in the region, as well as returning cash to shareholders. But both Norway’s DNO and AIM-listed Genel Energy, while maintaining Kurdish production, may focus on deploying their growing capital elsewhere. The former has entered Cote d’Ivoire and has a raft of prospects in its home Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) market. The latter has committed itself to making a transformative acquisition, but there is no certainty it will be in Kurdistan. Gulf Key