EnQuest to miss production targets after unplanned outage in North Sea

UK and Malaysia-focused energy group EnQuest has trimmed its production outlook for the full year after an unplanned outage at the Ninian Central Platform in the North Sea.

The company said that, while production at its Magnus oilfield has returned to pre-outage levels, there was a temporary stoppage allowing time to inspect and repair a subsea hydraulic system at Ninian.

"This event disrupted what was otherwise a good second half performance across EnQuest's upstream portfolio, with annual shutdowns completed on time and to cost, with good subsequent field delivery and continued high operational uptime," the company said.

As a result, full-year average output is now expected to be "slightly below" the guidance range of 41,000 to 45,000 barrels of oil equivalents per day, compared with 43,812 boepd in 2023.

Meanwhile, a decision to accelerate investments in flare gas recovery at Magnus, 2024 capital expenditure is now expected to be around $250m, $50m higher than previous guidance, with a net reduction in free cash flow of $15m.

The company also announced that it has decided to terminate a rig contract with Dolphin Drilling at its Kraken oilfield after joint venture partners were unable to agree on a 2025 asset drilling programme. This will cost the company $14.6m but reduce 2025 planned capex by $60m.

Shares were down 2% at 11.8p by 0938 GMT.