Norway’s DNO bucked the recent trend of oil firms suspending operations in Kurdish Iraq, saying yesterday that it remains committed to operations there and will be ramping up production at its Tawke field.
DNO, which is 42.8 per cent-owned by RAK Petroleum, announced record second-quarter gross production of just under 139,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day (boe/d), up 76 per cent from the previous quarter (the company’s working interest in that production is about 59 per cent).
Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani, DNO’s executive chairman, said: “We’ve had feet on the ground in Kurdistan for 10 years, including during the recent crisis as well as in past ones, and remain fully and firmly committed to our operations.”
In the second quarter, the company said it hit record daily production of 133,192 barrels at its Tawke field, located in north-west Kurdish Iraq, on the Turkish border. DNO is developing the field with target production of 200,000 bpd. It also has operations in Dohuk and Erbil in the Kurdish Iraq region.
On the financial side, the company reported sales up 10 per cent over the previous year’s second quarter, at US$143 million, but net profit down 7.5 per cent, at $44.4m, owing to higher costs.
While saying it was “charging ahead at Tawke”, DNO conceded that “the security situation will dictate execution” of its development plans for the field.
In recent weeks, as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) insurgents spread fear and mayhem as they advanced through northern Iraq, a number of oil companies said they were suspending operations and pulling out staff. In more recent days, Kurdish counter-insurgent forces, supported by US air strikes, have taken back territory, including the Mosul Dam, one of Iraq’s largest sources of hydroelectricity and water.
Nonetheless, companies including Abu Dhabi’s Taqa, as well as Genel and Chevron, have not yet said they will be resuming operations.
Yesterday DNO said that as well as plans to expand production further at the Tawke and Benenan fields in Kurdish Iraq, it will begin exploring new blocks onshore in Oman and offshore Tunisia. The company also has operations in Yemen and Ras Al Khaimah.
amcauley@thenational.ae
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Test
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Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
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Volvo ES90 Specs
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Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
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In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Three tips from La Perle's performers
1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.
2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.
3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.
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Directed by: Pete Doctor
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A meeting of young minds
The 3,494 entries for the 2019 Sharjah Children Biennial come from:
435 – UAE
2,000 – China
808 – United Kingdom
165 – Argentina
38 – Lebanon
16 – Saudi Arabia
16 – Bangladesh
6 – Ireland
3 – Egypt
3 – France
2 – Sudan
1 – Kuwait
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
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Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
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Torque: 859Nm
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Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
Profile of Bitex UAE
Date of launch: November 2018
Founder: Monark Modi
Based: Business Bay, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: Eight employees
Investors: Self-funded to date with $1m of personal savings
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NO OTHER LAND
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Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The specs
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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)
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