London-headquartered oil firm Ophir Energy today revealed its decision to relinquish a licence in Cote d’Ivoire.
The company said it had “refocused” its exploration portfolio, exiting seven deep water licences in Africa and Asia, including Block 513 in Cote d’Ivoire.
Ophir also said it was disappointed that a final investment decision had not yet been reached on the Fortuna floating LNG project off Equatorial Guinea.
Furthermore, “difficult but important actions” were implemented in 2017. Ophir reduced its London office and expatriate head count by about 50%, which equated to 15% of its global workforce.
The cuts have resulted in savings of about $12million per year.
Ophir’s 2017 revenues increased 76% to $189million, while pre-tax losses rose 28% to $64.4million.
Ophir chief executive Nick Cooper said: “2017 saw Ophir take important steps to adapt and right-size the business, meet key operational targets and replenish our exploration portfolio.
“Nevertheless, we are disappointed to have not yet achieved the Fortuna project FID despite having made significant progress on the project.
“The rebalancing of our portfolio and our capex prioritisation away from its prior primary exploration focus has seen Ophir approach sustainability.
“Our 2018 priorities are threefold: to deliver the Fortuna project FID; to further monetise our significant contingent resources; and to grow production and cash flow.”