Genel deepens annual loss after reserves downgrade

LONDON, March 30 (Reuters) - Genel Energy (Other OTC: GEGYF - news) , an Iraqi Kurdistan oil producer chaired by former BP boss Tony Hayward, deepened its annual operating loss last year after it further downgraded reserves at its flagship oilfield.

Genel said it wrote off $779 million on its exploration assets following the Taq Taq reserves downgrade announced earlier this week, taking it to an annual operating loss of $1.2 billion, worse than the $1.1 billion operating loss made in 2015.

The company also announced a bond buyback programme, aiming to repurchase a minimum of $50 million worth of bonds. Genel's share price fell to an all-time low on Tuesday following its reserve downgrade announcement.

"While acknowledging the recent disappointing share price performance and cumulative impact of impairments, there are now clearer opportunities for value creation than there have been for some time, driven by the significant opportunity afforded by our gas assets," said Genel CEO Murat Ozgul. (Reporting by Karolin Schaps, editing by David Evans)