Gulf Keystone flags going concern doubts amid Kurdistan crude woes (updated)

Gulf Keystone Petroleum

31/08/2023 07:46

(Adds CEO comment in paragraph 3, details and background)
       Aug 31 (Reuters) - Gulf Keystone Petroleum  GKP.L  on
Thursday flagged doubts about its ability to continue as a going
concern after the oil producer announced that it has cut 55% of
its expat jobs to slash costs amid the suspension of Kurdistan
crude exports.
    The London-listed company, focused on Iraqi Kurdistan, said
it was reviewing further job cuts following the hit to its
business after the closure of the Iraq-Turkey Pipeline in March.
    "While no official timeline has been announced, we continue
to believe that the suspension of exports will be temporary and
that the KRG will resume oil sales payments in due course," Gulf
Keystone CEO Jon Harris said in a statement.
    Last week Turkey's foreign and energy ministers met the head
of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan regional government (KRG)
for talks, including on oil exports, but neither official said
if a deal had been reached to resume crude flows through Turkey.
        In March, Turkey had stopped the oil flows after losing
a long-standing arbitration case brought by Iraq. Bagdad deems
exports from the region via Turkey's Ceyhan port as illegal.
        
  
         


 (Reporting by Anchal Rana and Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru;
Editing by Savio D'Souza and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
 ((Anchal.Rana@thomsonreuters.com; +91 9915609050;))