To downgrade oil reserves once may be regarded as unfortunate; to do so twice looks like carelessness.
Genel Energy’s stumbles in the Kurdish region of Iraq have sent the value of its shares down to just 7 per cent of their 2014 high. While serious for the company, this latest bad news is more of a blow for the region’s economic and political aspirations.
Genel Energy, launched by the former BP boss Tony Hayward in 2011, cut its reserves at the flagship Taq Taq field, up in the Kurdish mountains, from 499 million barrels to 172 million barrels in 2016, then on March 28 again to 59 million barrels. Taq Taq production has tumbled from 116,000 barrels per day to 19,000 bpd.
The reservoir rocks are highly fractured, allowing wells to drain oil rapidly through the cracks. But the small pores in the reservoir rock matrix here, which hold the bulk of the oil in typical fields, are not contributing to production at all. Once the relatively small volume of oil in the fractures is drained, they fill with water.
Genel is not the only company to get into trouble with Kurdish geology. MOL Group’s Akri-Bijeel block slashed its reserves by 99 per cent in 2015, Afren went bankrupt after writing down the Bardarash field in 2015 while DNO, Genel’s partner in the Tawke field, had to suspend production at the Summail gasfield after it began producing water.
Genel still has hopes for the Kurdish region, via development of the large Miran and Bina Bawi gasfields. But progress on a gas sales agreement with Turkey has been painfully slow and the company needs a partner to contribute the capital for field development. The cash-strapped Kurdish government will also have to finance a processing plant and pipeline. Oddly, given strained relations with their main gas suppliers, Russia and Iran, the Turks have not been in a particular hurry.
For the Kurds, Genel’s decline has brought further problems. Already struggling with about US$20 billion of debt and long arrears to the oil companies, every barrel is vital. Khurmala, the northern part of the giant Kirkuk field, has been operated by the local Kurdish company KAR since 2009. Following ISIL’s capture of Mosul, the Kurds took control of most of the other Kirkuk-area fields, which with Khurmala now yield about 350,000 bpd out of the region’s 600,000 bpd production.
Some new fields are on the way. The most important is Atrush, operated by Abu Dhabi’s Taqa, whose recently completed feeder pipeline allows it to produce 30,000 bpd. Heavy oil output from the giant Shaikan field has also grown, but Gulf Keystone, its operator, cannot do much more without further investment and regular payments in full from the government.
Growing dependence on the disputed front-line territories around Kirkuk for financial solvency casts a cloud over Kurdish national aspirations. Two of the region’s three leading parties – the KDP, which largely controls the oil portfolio, and the PUK, which rules Kirkuk – have agreed on a referendum on independence. They have been held before but this time it seems more serious.
Baghdad, though, has not accepted the fait accompli of Kirkuk’s change of control. As ISIL is gradually driven out of Mosul, the federal authorities’ attention may shift to a resolution of matters with the Kurds. The northern part of the Kurdish region is effectively controlled by the KDP, which is under strong Turkish influence. But the advance of a Syrian Kurd-led alliance on ISIL’s capital of Raqqa worries Ankara. Now the Russians, via a deal for their state champion Rosneft to buy Kurdish oil for an advance payment, have strengthened their role in the mix.
Geography and then geology have been the Kurds’ friends in advancing their quest for nationhood. But now Genel’s fractured rocks and fractured finances have added another obstacle in the way of piecing together a Kurdish state.
Robin Mills is the chief executive of Qamar Energy, and author of The Myth of the Oil Crisis.
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How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
'The Ice Road'
Director: Jonathan Hensleigh
Stars: Liam Neeson, Amber Midthunder, Laurence Fishburne
2/5
OPINIONS ON PALESTINE & ISRAEL
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Sustainable Development Goals
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development
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What drives subscription retailing?
Once the domain of newspaper home deliveries, subscription model retailing has combined with e-commerce to permeate myriad products and services.
The concept has grown tremendously around the world and is forecast to thrive further, according to UnivDatos Market Insights’ report on recent and predicted trends in the sector.
The global subscription e-commerce market was valued at $13.2 billion (Dh48.5bn) in 2018. It is forecast to touch $478.2bn in 2025, and include the entertainment, fitness, food, cosmetics, baby care and fashion sectors.
The report says subscription-based services currently constitute “a small trend within e-commerce”. The US hosts almost 70 per cent of recurring plan firms, including leaders Dollar Shave Club, Hello Fresh and Netflix. Walmart and Sephora are among longer established retailers entering the space.
UnivDatos cites younger and affluent urbanites as prime subscription targets, with women currently the largest share of end-users.
That’s expected to remain unchanged until 2025, when women will represent a $246.6bn market share, owing to increasing numbers of start-ups targeting women.
Personal care and beauty occupy the largest chunk of the worldwide subscription e-commerce market, with changing lifestyles, work schedules, customisation and convenience among the chief future drivers.
The specs: 2019 Jeep Wrangler
Price, base: Dh132,000
Engine: 3.6-litre V6
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 285hp @ 6,400rpm
Torque: 347Nm @ 4,100rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.6L to 10.3L / 100km
The specs: 2018 Mercedes-Benz E 300 Cabriolet
Price, base / as tested: Dh275,250 / Dh328,465
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder
Power: 245hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 370Nm @ 1,300rpm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.0L / 100km
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
TOUR RESULTS AND FIXTURES
June 3: NZ Provincial Barbarians 7 Lions 13
June 7: Blues 22 Lions 16
June 10: Crusaders 3 Lions 12
June 13: Highlanders 23 Lions 22
June 17: Maori All Blacks 10 Lions 32
June 20: Chiefs 6 Lions 34
June 24: New Zealand 30 Lions 15
June 27: Hurricanes 31 Lions 31
July 1: New Zealand 21 Lions 24
July 8: New Zealand v Lions
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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