21st Jan 2021 10:01
(Alliance News) - Energean PLC said Thursday it is targeting an inaugural dividend payment in 2022, as working interest output for 2020 falls in line with company guidance.
For the year as a whole, the FTSE 250 oil & gas firm said its proforma working interest production was at an average of 48,300 barrels of oil equivalent per day, at the mid-point of guidance of 44,500 to 51,500 barrels per day.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and exploration for the year was USD101 million, on proforma revenue of USD335 million, which includes the acquisition of Edison Exploration & Production.
For 2019, Energean's adjusted Ebitdax was USD35.6 million, on revenue of USD75.7 million, not including the Edison E&P acquisition.
Energean's proved and probable reserves rose by 80% to 956 million barrels of oil equivalents - of which 77% was gas - from 532 million barrels the prior year.
In Israel, Energean's Karish project was 87% complete by the end of 2020. Since the year-end, the group has taken its final investment decision on the Karish North development, 21 months after its discovery.
Karish North has 2P reserves of 241 million barrels of oil equivalent, and Energean expects the project to deliver an internal rate of return in excess of 40%. Looking ahead, Energean has plans for the next exploration and appraisal campaign in Israel underway, with drilling of up to five wells set to start in early 2022.
Meanwhile in Egypt, Energean produced an average of 35,400 barrels per day for the year, in line with market guidance of 34,000 to 37,000 barrels per day.
However looking ahead, the group had guided for 2021 production to be 35,000 to 40,000 barrels per day, reflecting a 17% to 28% decline from 2020's figure. Energean attributed this to investments in Egypt and Italy being delayed until post-completion to ensure workstreams are optimised, as well as the assumption of no meaningful contribution from Israel.
For Israel, Energean continues to target first gas by the end of 2021, however, this would require a ramp-up in manpower in the Admiralty yard, otherwise the target could slip by between two to three months.
In addition, the group said it is still defining its future dividend policy, and is targeting an inaugural dividend payment in 2022.
"2020 was clearly a challenging year but nevertheless a successful one for Energean. We completed the first phase of our transition to become the leading independent gas-producer in the Mediterranean with the completion of the acquisition of Edison E&P. The second phase of that transformation will be completed once Karish, our multi-tcf flagship gas project offshore Israel, commences production enabling us to deliver material free cash flows and meaningful, sustainable shareholder returns," said Chief Executive Mathios Rigas.
Shares in Energean were down 4.4% at 881.30 pence on Thursday in London.
By Dayo Laniyan; [email protected]
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