Gulf Keystone Petroleum Limited (LSE:GKP) (GKP) has cancelled plans for a US$25mln shareholder payout as the production shutdown in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq persists.
The Kurdistan-focussed small-cap oiler’s Shaikan field was closed after a pipeline from Iraq into Turkey was shut-in back in March.
To date, the company estimates that the issue has resulted in a gross production deferment to date of around 2.9mln barrels (representing a rate of 8,000 barrels per day).
GKP, in a stock market statement, noted that no official timeline to restart pipeline operations has been publicly announced, nevertheless, it told investors that it “continues to believe that the suspension of exports will be temporary”.
It added: “We are encouraged by the announcement from the Kurdistan Regional Government on 11 May 2023 that it has reached an agreement with the Iraqi government on measures to allow the resumption of oil exports through Turkey and that Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organization has officially requested Turkish authorities to allow the Kurdistan Region’s oil exports via the country's Ceyhan port.”
The company, meanwhile, said it remained ready to resume production immediately.