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DNO International boss keeps mum over
Kurdish threat
28.9.2009 |
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September 28, 2009
OSLO,
Norway,—
DNO International boss
Helge Eide has refused to speculate on the chances
of Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) officials
stripping the Norwegian player of its production
sharing cotracts in the Iraqi region.
Eide also told a press conference this morning that
the Tawke oilfield is pumping between 6000 and 8000
barrels per day for local customers after the row
with the KRG shut its exports.
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DNO International boss
Helge Eide is under pressure |
Last Monday, the KRG suspended DNO's operations in
the region for six weeks - and may revoke the
company's licences - after the release of details of
a 2008 stock deal between the KRG and DNO.
Meanwhile, a senior KRG official said the government
did not benefit from trading DNO shares and is
seeking full disclosure of the deal.
"We haven't made any financial gain at all, it's
more of a headache for us now," Khalid Salih, in
Oslo to put forward the KRG's position in the
dispute, said at a press conference yesterday.
The KRG said the release of details of the deal
caused it "unjustifiable and incalculable harm" and
accused the Oslo Stock Exchange of revealing
selective information about the deals that painted
the Kurdish authorities in a bad light.
"The Oslo Stock Exchange was selective with their
information and should have asked us to clarify
right from the start, instead of speculating who may
be behind the deals," Salih, who hopes to meet with
bourse officials today, said.
"We want complete disclosure and a fair and
transparent process. We need to see it rectify the
damage done to us," he told Reuters.
The Oslo Stock Exchange has repeatedly denied any
wrongdoing.
DNO has threatened to sue the bourse and move its
listing to another exchange, an idea welcomed by
Salih as part of a solution.
"If DNO wanted to (delist from Oslo), we would
certainly support them because obviously there is a
problem in their relationship with the stock
exchange," he said.
"As far as KRG is concerned, that would be a very
good solution for us."
The share deal, in October last year, saw 44 million
DNO shares sold to the KRG before ending up in the
hands of privately-held Turkish company Genel Enerji,www.ekurd.netwhich
is in the process of merging with Heritage Oil.
"At this stage we are not in a position to say what
we will be satisfied with, because we need to
understand more. We need to have dialogue with the
Oslo Stock Exchange to see why they have behaved the
way they did," said Salih.
At a news conference on Sunday, Salih showed bank
documents and emails he said proved the KRG did not
use its potential knowledge of key regulatory
developments for DNO when trading its shares.
Norway's financial sector watchdog has asked for an
investigation of the transactions by the Norwegian
police.
Salih said the KRG bought the DNO shares in October
2008 as a middleman on behalf of Genel to help both
companies at a time when financing was tough and
they did not have export permits.
"The gains and losses (on the trades) are Genel's,"
he added.
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