Harbour Energy production up 27% YTD

Oil and gas company Harbour Energy said on Thursday that production had risen year-to-date, while unit operating costs decreased throughout the nine months ended 30 September.

Harbour Energy said production increased 27% year-on-year to 207,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, leading the group to now expect full-year production to be in the upper half of its 200,000-210,000 boepd guidance.

Unit operating costs came to $14 per barrel of oil, a decrease of 18% on the corresponding prior period, with the group now forecasting 2022 operating costs to reduce to roughly $14 per barrel versus previous guidance of $15-16.

Revenues came to $4.1bn, while total capex guidance slipped from $1.2bn to $1.0bn, primarily driven by the late arrival of drilling rigs and the weaker pound sterling to US dollar exchange rate.

Harbour also stated that the recently enacted UK Energy Profits Levy and speculation about further fiscal changes had created "uncertainty" for independent oil and gas companies.

"As a result, evaluating expected returns from long-term investments has become more difficult and investors are advocating for geographic diversification," it noted.

As of 0835 GMT, Harbour shares were up 1.45% at 390.09p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com