Production from oil operations in Kurdish Iraq is expected to increase following a payment from the regional government, Gulf Keystone Petroleum said.

The company said Wednesday it resumed production from the Shaikan reserve area in the Kurdish north of Iraq after receiving payments for future crude oil sales. Production is now expected to increase to levels consistent with the installed capacity of 40,000 barrels of oil per day.

Gulf Keystone was upbeat when, in December, the Kurdish and Iraqi central governments brokered a deal ending a simmering impasse over who controls what parts of the oil sector in the country. Operations were suspended in February amid a payment row with the semiautonomous Kurdistan Regional Government.

"Over recent weeks we have maintained a flexible and prudent approach, ensuring that we can maximize revenues from Shaikan," Chief Executive Officer John Gerstenlauer said in a statement. "We remain confident of a regular payment cycle for Shaikan crude being established in the near term."

The company, which has headquarters in London, is producing oil from nine wells in the Shaikan development in the Kurdish north of Iraq. Total production was around 40,000 barrels of oil per day at the end of 2014. New prospects under development were billed by the company as "potentially prolific."

Gulf Keystone made no reference to a February announcement that it was engaged in talks with "a number of parties" about a possible sale of the company or transaction of assets. In response to email questions about the possible sale, company spokesman Mark Antelme said "we're not saying" if the matter was related either to issues with the Kurdish government or the weak crude oil market.