Oslo, 10 May 2023: BlueNord ASA ("BlueNord" or the "Company") today published its first quarter 2023 results. The first quarter of the year delivered excellent operational performance and strong cash generative financial results.
Highlights:
- First quarter net hydrocarbon production of 26.6 mboepd, above quarterly guidance
- Strong underlying reservoir performance where natural decline is mitigated by high level of well activities
- Revenues of USD 221 million compared to USD 179 million in same quarter in 2022
- EBITDA in Q1 of USD 122 million, versus USD 107 million in Q1 2022
- Strong Operating Cash Flow of USD 157 million, with total liquidity of USD 529 million at the end of the quarter
- Licence application submitted for acreage containing the gas discovery Elly-Luke in the Danish part of the North Sea.
Net hydrocarbon production for the quarter was 26.6 mboepd. This is above the quarterly guidance range of 25.0-26.5 mboepd. The overarching strong production trend from 2022 continued in the first quarter of 2023 and outlook is expected to remain strong, with both planned optimisation work and infill drilling. As a result, BlueNord’s quarterly guidance for the remainder of the year is under review with the Company expecting an upwards revision.
The Tyra Redevelopment project continued to move forward and significant progress was made on Tyra East with respect to riser tie-ins, well reinstatement, fire water system and sea water cooling system. On 8 May 2023 the first gas turbine generator successfully started up, and the continued focus ahead of first gas remains on improving offshore productivity and completing key milestones.
The financial result for the first quarter of 2023 shows a continued strong development with Revenues of USD 221 million and EBITDA of USD 122 million. Cash Flow from operating activities was USD 157 million in the first quarter, with Post-Tax Cash Earnings of USD 147 million. BlueNord continues to be fully-funded for Tyra with cash generative operations and Cash on Balance Sheet of USD 329 million and Total Available Liquidity of USD 529 million.
“I am delighted to be able to report, in our first quarter as BlueNord, that we continue to deliver in line with our track-record of strong operational and financial performance. Production levels were above the top-end of our guidance for the quarter and, supported by strong market and hedged commodity prices particularly for our gas volumes, we generated significant free cashflow in the period,” said Euan Shirlaw, Chief Executive Officer of BlueNord.
“The outlook also remains strong and, after the quarter end, we will spud the first of seven planned infill wells to support near-term production levels and we continue to make progress towards Tyra coming onstream at the end of this year. The announcement of our Elly Luke licence application demonstrates our desire to maximise the long-term value of our business and to assess opportunities to capture incremental value. Overall, we continue to make strong progress in delivering a more than doubling of our production to over 55mboe/d by 2025 and returning material capital to our shareholders,” he concludes.
The report and investor presentation may be downloaded from the Company's website www.bluenord.com or www.newsweb.no.
The Company will host a webcast today at 11:00 CEST.
To join webcast: https://channel.royalcast.com/hegnarmedia/#!/hegnarmedia/20230510_5
Contact:
Cathrine F. Torgersen, EVP Investor Relations & ESG
Phone: +47 915 28 501
Email: cathrine.torgersen@bluenord.com
This information is considered to be inside information pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation, and is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. The stock exchange announcement was published by Cathrine Torgersen, Executive Vice President Investor Relations & ESG, BlueNord ASA, at the date and time as set out above.
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