Energean sees first gas from Israel project in H1 2021

Israel-focused Energean Oil & Gas said it was set to deliver first gas from its offshore fields in the first half of 2021 adding that the hull of its production vessel would sail away from its Chinese shipyard "in the coming weeks" and warned the Covid-19 outbreak could impact 2020 results.

Energean said that the Coronavirus had not had a material impact on its activities to date, but warned it was not possible to predict whether the outbreak would hit future earnings, cash flows and financial condition.

It added that the price war sparked by a dispute between Saudi Arabia and Russia over production cuts that led to a slump in oil prices "may have a material adverse impact on the component of Energean's future earnings that are linked to oil prices".

The company said it had secured a $175m increase in its project finance facility, which is now sized at $1.45bn, increasing liquidity available to the company.

"In the coming weeks, you will see our floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) hull sail away from China to Singapore, a key milestone in the delivery of first gas from Karish, which is on track for H1 2021," chief executive Mathios Rigas said on Thursday.

Energean said final work on the vessel would take place in Singapore and the vessel sailed to Israel around year-end for installation.

In February Energean said it had been told by the FPSO's builder TechnipFMC that the coronavirus was a force majeure event and it could claim a time extension to get the work done. However the company had been able to maintain the workforce in the shipyard to above 550 people.