31 May 2017, London — Dana Gas and its partners are seeking damages of at least $26.5 billion (Dh97.2 billion) from Iraq’s self-governing Kurdish region for delays in oil and natural gas projects, a US court filing shows. The company’s shares gained the most in more than three months.
UAE-based Dana Gas and its partners in the venture, called Pearl Petroleum, filed a petition on May 12 in a federal court in Washington, DC, seeking “recognition and enforcement” of awards in a London arbitration case, according to the US court documents. The petition is part of a legal process that may allow Pearl Petroleum to seize Kurdish assets if the Kurds don’t pay awards decided in arbitration.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) “considers that the claimants’ approach in the arbitration is unconstructive and unnecessarily escalates the dispute,” its energy ministry said Wednesday in a statement posted on its website. “The KRG will continue vigorously to pursue its rights and defend its position in all appropriate forums,” the ministry said Tuesday in an emailed statement.
Dana Gas declined to comment on the US court filing, while Crescent Petroleum, its biggest shareholder and also a party to the filing, didn’t have an immediate comment.
The partners are pursuing claims in the London Court of International Arbitration against the KRG for damages for delays they say were caused by the KRG in developing the projects. Dana Gas hasn’t previously disclosed a number of damages it’s seeking in the case.