Gulf Keystone Receives $16.5 Million From First Additional Cargo Lifted in October
Key Facts
Gulf Keystone Petroleum said on November 9, 2026, that it had received net $16.5 million for the first additional cargo lifted in October. The payment represents collection of pricing receivables linked to export sales made between September and December 2025. The company said the amount recovers more than half of the receivables outstanding for that period. The receivables balance stood at net $31.3 million to the company. The announcement therefore marks the conversion of a large portion of the balance into cash, with an amount tied to the remaining cargoes still due.
The settlement relates to fourth-quarter 2025 cargoes lifted in October 2026, according to the company. Gulf Keystone expects to receive their value by the end of November 2026. It said it expects to recover the full remaining amount for the fourth quarter when those payments are collected. The announced timing puts the expected collection weeks after the first payment was announced. In parallel, the company continues to receive its share of interim cargoes and payments for current production.
The company’s cash balance was $66.0 million on November 6, 2026, after receipt of the $16.5 million payment. The company said this balance excludes net proceeds from a $175 million bond issue. The issue was expected to settle on November 10, 2026, four days after the reported cash-balance date. Gulf Keystone announced on October 27 that it had priced five-year unsecured bonds. It set the annual coupon at 10.25% and the issue price at 98% of par, and said the issue was oversubscribed.
The company said the bond proceeds are intended to fund near-term capital expenditure and prepare for a return to development of the Shaikan field, alongside general corporate purposes. This comes as interim export arrangements continue, bringing international oil companies together with Iraq’s federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government. According to first-half results published on August 24, 2026, these agreements were extended for six months through the end of January 2027. The extension provided time to negotiate longer-term agreements at international export prices. Settlement of cargo receivables remains part of the context for these interim arrangements.
Gulf Keystone’s production was affected by a precautionary shutdown from February 28 to June 23, 2026, amid regional security concerns. Average gross production was 14,600 barrels per day in the first half of 2026, compared with 44,100 barrels per day in the corresponding period of 2025. The Shaikan field resumed production on August 16, 2026, and gross volumes were approaching 40,000 barrels per day when the first-half results were announced. During the first half, cash receipts from export sales equated to about $30 per barrel under the interim agreements. The difference from the realized price was recorded as an additional receivable, illustrating how the pricing receivables now being collected accumulated.
Chief Executive John Harris said the interim export agreements provided a better return than domestic sales. He added that payments arrived regularly and without delay after cargoes were lifted. The company recorded adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization of $51.7 million in the first half of 2026, compared with $41.1 million in the first half of 2025. Water-treatment facilities at PF-2 are targeted to begin operating in the first quarter of 2027 to support production growth, increase facility capacity and reduce reservoir risk. The company also said it is preparing for a possible return to field development and drilling in 2027, subject to receiving all contractual entitlements from export sales.