North Sea operator Ithaca Energy narrowed its losses during a first half in which the company changed hands and achieved first oil from the Stella field.
The Israeli-owned business recorded first-half pre-tax losses of £2.5million ($3.2million), a vast improvement on a deficit of £46.7million in 2016.
Revenues surged to £58million in the first six months of 2017 from £45million the previous year.
Production at the Aberdeen-based firm climbed by almost a quarter to 11,603barrels of oil equivalent (boe) per day during the period under review.
The company also managed to reduce its unit operating costs to $19 per barrel from $23 in 2016.
Ithaca’s figures were boosted by the start of production from the Stella field in February.
In its first-half results update, Ithaca said it was focusing on optimising the asset’s performance to “mitigate lower than forecast initial oil production rates”.
The field is part of the Greater Stella Area (GSA), located about 175 miles east of Aberdeen in the central UK North Sea.
Ithaca is the operator of GSA with a 54.66% working interest. Project partners include Dyas, which has 25.34%, while Petrofac is on 20%.
The area also consists of the Harrier field, whose development programme is “progressing to plan”, according to Ithaca.
The drilling programme for Harrier is slated for completion during the current quarter, with production start-up expected in the second half of 2018.
And Ithaca said it was working on a field development plan for the Vorlich field, which also falls within the GSA.
Ithaca is now owned by Israeli firm Delek Group.
The deal, which went through in June, valued Ithaca at around £1billion.
Recommended for you
