21st Jan 2020 08:55
(Alliance News) - Cairn Energy PLC reached the upper end of production guidance in 2019, the company said, even after that goal had been increased mid-year.
Production in 2019 from the Catcher and Kraken fields in the North Sea net to Cairn averaged 23,000 barrels of oil per day, at the upper end of the 21,000 barrel to 23,000 barrel per day guidance. Early in 2019, Cairn had guided for between 19,000 barrels to 22,000 barrels per day.
Production in 2019 was 31% higher year-on-year. Edinburgh-based Cairn holds a 20% interest in the Catcher field, and a stake just shy of 30% in Kraken.
Oil and gas revenue for the year was USD504 million, at an average price of USD64.52 a barrel. This revenue figure is 27% higher than in 2018, though the realised price was over 5% less.
Cairn's capital expenditure during 2019 was USD245 million, and it sees USD595 million of capex in 2020 due to the approval of the Sangomar field development in Senegal, which was announced earlier in January. The company will be spending around USD135 million on exploration and appraisal.
Chief Executive Simon Thomson said: "Cairn's strong cash flow generation, active portfolio management and year end net cash provide financial flexibility for continued strategic delivery across our balanced portfolio.
"We are delighted to have achieved final investment decision in Senegal, and we look forward to the results of our exploration drilling programme in Mexico. The sale of our Norwegian business through two attractively-priced transactions demonstrates the company's continued focus on capital discipline and monetisation."
Cairn's shares were down 0.4% on Tuesday morning in London at 190.80 pence each.
By George Collard; [email protected]
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