Premier Oil says production above full-year guidance

Premier Oil said year-to-date production had averaged 57,100 barrels of oil equivalent per day (kboepd), above full-year guidance.

In an update on activities, the company said summer maintenance activities had been successfully completed and production returned to previous levels and that it was expected to be ahead of full-year guidance of 55 kboepd, before any contribution from the North Sea Solan field.

Premier said it still expected full year operating expenditure of $16 per barrel of oil equivalent after making “significant” cost savings. It had hedged approximately 60% of its second half production at $92 a barrel (bbl) and 30% of its expected liquids production in 2016 at $68 bbl.

Management was anticipating first oil from Solan in the final quarter of 2015, in-line with previous guidance. It added that good offshore productivity and 97% uptime had been achieved with the Regalia flotel.

Its forecast for full-year 2015 capital expenditure was unchanged and Premier said it continued to expect a significant reduction in year-on-year capex in 2016.

Premier still had significant liquidity with $1.3bn of cash and undrawn credit facilities. The company said its long term unsecured debt structure meant it was not subject to borrowing base redeterminations and it had no maturities on any of its debt instruments until end 2017.

The oil explorer's $2.5bn bank facility was not due for refinancing until mid-2019, Premier added.