Norwegian Energy Company (Noreco) cited strong operational and financial performance during the quarter, despite setbacks to its flagship Tyra project.
Pre-tax earnings from the Oslo-listed group (OSLO:NOR) amounted to $136 million during Q3 2022, though it posted a minor loss of $12m after tax for the period.
Revenues rose to $294m, up on the previous quarter and mainly as a result of stronger commodity prices.
The company said its results were further strengthened by a successful well restimulation campaign at its Halfdan field (HCA), which delivered approximately 2,000 barrels of additional gas volumes.
“Despite the planned maintenance shut-in of the NOGAT pipeline, cash flow generation from the producing assets continues to be the strongest since closing the acquisition of Shell’s Danish upstream assets in 2019, providing Noreco with additional flexibility,” the company said in a statement.
Production for the quarter rose above 25,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd). The result led Noreco to revise its full-year production guidance upward the for the fourth time, to 26,500-27,000 boepd.
Noreco also reported the completion of “major milestones” at its flagship Tyra project, in which it is partnered with TotalEnergies (43.2%) and Nordsøfonden (20%), though the consortium confirmed earlier in the quarter that first gas from the project would be delayed into 2023 on the back of supply chain issues.
It is the second major slip for the project, which had already been pushed back from 2022 into mid-2023 as a result of COVID-19 delays.
Nevertheless, Q3 saw Heerema Marine Contractors break a “world-lifting record” with the installation of a topside at the redevelopment project. And on 1 September, Noreco announced the successful sail-away of the long awaited process module from the yard in Batam.
Following the lifting operation, Tyra now has its final shape with all eight platforms in place and all major lifts and installations safely completed.
“Noreco has delivered another quarter of excellent performance,” said chief executive Euan Shirlaw.
“Operationally, the HCA restimulation campaign was exceptionally impactful and, combined with high uptime and the well-managed NOGAT shutdown, it allowed us to deliver record quarterly revenue, EBITDA and free cashflow generation; an outcome that was delivered despite almost a month of planned gas export capacity downtime.”
“Our focus continues be on maximising gas output in the short, medium and long-term, an objective that is supported by our strong operational base,” he added.