Genel, Gulf Keystone Gain on Kurdistan-Iraq Oil Revenue Deal

Genel Energy Plc (GENL) and Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd. (GKP) rose in London trading after Iraq’s central government and the semi-autonomous Kurdish region reached an agreement to end an oil revenue dispute.

Genel gained 3.7 percent, the most since Aug. 14, to 731 pence. Gulf Keystone rose 6.2 percent to 234.8 pence.

The Kurdish regional government will initially boost oil production to 200,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day with further increases scheduled for next year, according to the agreement, Rowsch Shawayes, Iraq’s deputy prime minister for economic affairs, said last yesterday in an e-mailed statement.

Iraqi and Kurdish officials had disagreed over how to share revenue from oil produced from Kurdish fields after some of the world’s biggest oil companies, including Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM), Chevron Corp. (CVX) and Total SA (FP), committed to doing business there.

DNO International ASA (DNO), a Norwegian company operating in Kurdistan, rose 11.7 percent, the most since March.

Genel, run by former BP Plc (BP/) Chief Executive Officer Tony Hayward, is targeting production of about 200,000 barrels of oil a day in Kurdistan by the time a new export pipeline is completed next year. The company said last month it will expand further outside of Kurdistan, with more exploration acreage, as well as drill seven wells in Iraq this year and next.

To contact the reporter on this story: Brian Swint in London at bswint@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Will Kennedy at wkennedy3@bloomberg.net