OSLO, (Pakistan Point News - 31st Oct, 2019) - DNO ASA, the Norwegian oil and gas operator, today reported strong third quarter revenues of US$ 227 million, up 33 percent from a year earlier, on the back of solid production averaging 99,300 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) on a Company Working Interest basis, up 22 percent year on year.
Notwithstanding the strong underlying performance, 2019 third quarter results were impacted by non-recurring items as well as lower oil prices and higher exploration expenses, resulting in a net loss of US $96 million.
A company announcement said that in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, third quarter production at the Tawke licence containing the DNO-operated Tawke and Peshkabir fields (shared 75-25 with partner Genel Energy plc) averaged 119,800 barrels of oil per day (bopd). DNO expects to exit the year with Tawke licence production averaging 120,000 bopd and to maintain this rate into 2020. DNO recently reached a significant milestone of 300 million barrels of cumulative oil production from the Tawke and Peshkabir fields.
Activity remains high as the company continues to deliver its largest drilling campaign in its 48-year history with some 36 wells in 2019, of which 22 are development/infill wells and 14 exploration/appraisal wells, the announcement said.
DNO projects full-year operational spend of US $ 620 million (post-tax), of which US $ 454 million was spent through the end of the third quarter, including US $ 244 million in Kurdistan and US $ 210 million (post-tax) in the North Sea.
The financial results were impacted by impairment charges of US$ 138 million, including US $89 million for technical goodwill on the Brasse discovery (Norway) and USD 33 million for decommissioning of the Schooner and Ketch fields (United Kingdom).
DNO has maintained its previously approved dividend distribution programme with another semi-annual payment of NOK 0.20 per share to be made on 4th November.
"We continue to deliver across a range of operating and financial targets even as we paused this quarter for early spring cleaning of our balance sheet," said DNO’s Executive Chairman Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani. "Given global headwinds, we are budgeting at the low end of the industry’s Brent price range of US $60-70 per barrel," he added.
