Dana Gas nine-month profit climbs 48% to Dh558 million
Dana Gas earned Dh558 million ($152 million) in the first nine months of 2026, a 48% increase that the company attributed to higher output in Iraq's Kurdistan Region and Egypt and stronger realized hydrocarbon prices. Without a one-time gas metering adjustment, profit was broadly unchanged from a year earlier.
Omar Al Nuaimi
Metering adjustment lifts reported earnings
The Sharjah-based energy company's results included a positive gas metering reconciliation of Dh176 million ($48 million), recognized in the first quarter. Excluding that adjustment, nine-month net profit was Dh382 million ($104 million), compared with reported earnings of Dh379 million ($103 million) a year earlier.
Revenue reached Dh1.38 billion ($377 million), up 48% from Dh935 million ($255 million). Without the metering adjustment, revenue growth was 29%. EBITDA increased 61%, reaching Dh917 million ($250 million) against Dh570 million ($155 million) in the prior-year period.
For the third quarter alone, Dana Gas posted net profit of Dh165 million ($45 million), a 50% year-over-year increase. Quarterly revenue grew 42% to Dh436 million ($119 million).
CEO Richard Hall credited production gains and stronger hydrocarbon prices for the earnings increase. He said the company continued to prioritize cash generation and long-term value for shareholders.
Higher output in both core markets
Dana Gas averaged 55,800 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) across the group during the nine months, 6% above the year-earlier level of 52,650 boepd. The third-quarter average was 61,400 boepd, an increase of 17%.
The Kurdistan Region of Iraq accounted for 42,300 boepd over the nine-month period, up 5%. Greater utilization of Khor Mor's expanded facilities supported an 18% rise in third-quarter output to 47,550 boepd.
Khor Mor's KM250 expansion brought installed gas processing capacity to 750 million standard cubic feet per day (MMscf/d), a 50% increase. Dana Gas expects the expansion to generate up to $160 million in additional annual revenue at full capacity, with its financial contribution beginning in the first quarter of 2026 and building through the year.
Egyptian production averaged 13,500 boepd, a 10% increase. Drilling added 50 billion cubic feet of gas resources and 35 MMscf/d of incremental output. Dana Gas has drilled six new wells this year and plans to drill three more exploration wells by the first quarter of 2027.
Gas supplies and development in Iraq
Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum began delivering Khor Mor gas to Iraq's Ministry of Electricity on August 4, 2026. The supply agreement, signed in December 2025, provides 100 MMscf/d to the Kirkuk Taza power station for an initial term of one year.
Dana Gas says Khor Mor supplies fuel for more than 80% of electricity generation in the Kurdistan Region, enabling affordable power for more than 8 million Iraqis there and in other governorates. According to the company, investment in the project exceeds $4.0 billion, and its operations have generated more than 47,000 direct and indirect jobs.
At Chemchemal, Dana Gas and its partners are advancing development with a $160 million investment program from Pearl Petroleum. Signed gas sales agreements cover supplies of up to 142 MMscf/d to industrial customers in Bazian and Erbil. The development includes a 40 km pipeline linking Chemchemal with industrial consumers in Bazian.
Pearl Petroleum, the consortium founded in 2009, has Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum as joint operators, each with a 35% equity stake. OMV, MOL and RWE each own 10%.
Cash collections and Pearl's bond refinancing
Nine-month collections rose to Dh843 million ($230 million): Dh572 million came from the Kurdistan Region and Dh271 million from Egypt. Dana Gas said its Egyptian business had no overdue receivables from June 2026 onward. On September 30, corporate cash totaled Dh467 million ($128 million), while Pearl Petroleum held a further Dh447 million ($122 million).
Pearl priced a $500 million, five-year secured bond in October to refinance its existing $350 million bond and help fund investment in Khor Mor and Chemchemal. The senior secured issue was placed in early November with a fixed annual coupon of 10.375% and a November 2031 maturity.
Subscriptions reached 1.7 times the issue size, allowing Pearl to increase the offering from its initial $400 million target to $500 million. Investors came from the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
The coupon is lower than the 13% rate on Pearl's $350 million, 3.5-year bond issued in November 2024. EnterpriseAM estimates that the larger borrowing will nevertheless raise the annual coupon bill to about $51.9 million from about $45.5 million, putting the added yearly interest cost for the extra $150 million at roughly $6.4 million.
DNB Carnegie and Pareto Securities are joint lead managers for the new bond, which will list on Euronext ABM in Oslo. EnterpriseAM noted that refinancing the 13% notes due in May 2028 removes Pearl's nearest maturity and extends its bond debt to 2031.
