Dana Gas may roll over part of $700m Islamic bond, chief executive says

Dana Gas, a producer of natural gas in Egypt, Iraq and the UAE, may seek to roll over part of the $700 million Islamic bonds maturing next year, the chief executive said.

The company, which has about $344m in cash, is in discussions with lenders about its future debt mix, Patrick Allman-Ward said in an interview on Bloomberg Television on Sunday.

“We are looking at different ways in which we can go forward and structure our debt,” Mr Allman-Ward said. “Clearly part of that is going to involve buying back a lot of the sukuk and part of that is going to have to be a discussion around rolling over the remaining amount in future.”

Dana Gas has joined oil and gas producers globally in cutting costs after crude prices fell to about half their 2014 levels amid a production glut. The company pumps fuel from its home base of Sharjah as well as in Egypt and Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region. It sells condensate, a light oil liquid from its Egyptian deposits on the global market as well as gas and other fuels domestically in Iraq and Egypt.

Crude prices will remain at roughly current levels through the rest of the year, Mr Allman-Ward said. Brent crude closed at $49.92 a barrel, snapping three weeks of gains.

Mr Allman-Ward said he sees the second half as positive and doesn’t see Opec agreeing among themselves and with other producers to limit output.

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