North sea oil firm Hurricane Energy posted deeper losses yesterday, but hailed this summer’s £405million finance deal as a “significant endorsement” of its west of Shetland ambitions
Chief executive Robert Trice said: “The first half of 2017 saw the conclusion of a highly successful 265-day drilling campaign that completed the well stock required for the Lancaster EPS (early production system), provided further invaluable reservoir data and increased the company’s resource estimates exponentially.
“The equity and convertible bond placing announced in June 2017 now fully funds the first phase of development on Lancaster which will not only generate significant cash for the company but, importantly, will provide key production and reservoir data.”
Mr Trice said this would be the catalyst for a full field development of “this very substantial oilfield” and unlock the potential of the firm’s wider portfolio.
He added: “To have closed such a large capital raise against a backdrop of historically low oil prices and a challenging equity market was a significant endorsement of Hurricane’s development of fractured basement reservoirs west of Shetland.”
Last week, Hurricane said the EPS – expected to produce 17,000 barrels of oil per day over an initial six-year period – would help it decide whether to move to full field development on Lancaster.
Hurricane was founded by Mr Trice in 2005 to discover and develop oil from naturally fractured “basement” reservoirs. Pre-tax losses for the first half of 2017 were £3.1million, against losses of £1.89million a year ago.
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