Premier Oil is set to raise stable peak production at its Catcher Field in Britain’s North Sea by as much as 17% to 70,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) this year after output reached that level this summer, the company said Aug. 23.
The news came as Premier reported first-half profit after tax more than doubled to $98.4 million, helped by higher oil prices.
First output at the Catcher Field marked a milestone for the company in December 2017, leading it to forecast a 10% output hike for 2018, with the field’s sustainable peak production—or plateau production—penciled in at 60,000 boe/d.
This summer, the field—of which Premier owns half alongside Cairn, MOL and Dyas—has reached 70,000 boe/d, of which about 65,000 is oil and the rest gas.
“There is significant scope to increase the plateau rate towards that level,” CEO Tony Durrant said.
Premier reiterated it expected group output to reach 80,000-85,000 boe/day this year.
Core profit, or earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), rose about a fifth to $388.9 million in the first half, the British energy company said. Its shares rose as much as 3.6% to a two-week high of 125.9 pence in early trading.
“At current oil prices (EBITDA) is expected to increase significantly in the second half of this year,” the company said.
Premier kept its target to reduce its debt pile of around $2.65 billion by $300 million to $400 million by year-end 2018.
Looking for growth, Premier on Aug. 20 approved its Tolmount gas project in the British North Sea, which is expected to produce around 500 billion cubic feet of gas from late 2020. Construction for the Tolmount platform is due to start in December, Premier said.
Premier’s other two big growth projects are progressing. These include drilling in Mexico’s closely-watched Zama development in the Sureste Basin.
As for its Sea Lion project off the Falkland Islands’ coast in the south Atlantic, Premier has lined up initial agreements on contracts and expects funding to be in place by the end of 2018 and government approvals from mid-2019, Durrant said.