Harbour Energy posts first-half profit, narrows FY production outlook
Adds shares, detail and background throughout
By Arunima Kumar
Aug 8 (Reuters) -Harbour Energy HBR.L, the largest British North Sea oil and gas producer, reported a net profit for the first half of the year from a year-earlier loss and narrowed its full-year 2024 total production outlook on Thursday.
Following a spike in energy prices in 2022, Britain imposed an energy profit levy (EPL) on oil and gas producers which raised the tax rate to 75% and wiped out most of their profit, including at Harbour.
The new Labour government announced last week it will increase EPL by 3% to 38% starting Nov. 1, bringing the headline rate of tax on oil and gas activity to 78%, among the highest in the world.
Harbour last year struck a $11.2 billion deal for Wintershall Dea's non-Russian oil and gas assets with an aim to cut its dependence on the UK. It expects to complete the deal early in the fourth-quarter.
Harbour said on Thursday its profit before tax for the first six months totalled $392 million.
It made a net tax payment of $157 million in the period primarily in relation to EPL.
Shares of the company were up 1.7% at 289.10p.
The London-listed company said production for the reported six-month period fell nearly 19% to 159 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day (kboepd), versus the previous six months, partly due to prolonged shutdown at its East Irish Sea operation and the start of the significant planned UK maintenance shutdown in May.
Weakness in production was offset by rise in crude prices.
Harbour said realised crude prices, post-hedging, for the reported period climbed nearly 12% to $85 per barrel.
The company expects 2024 production to be 155 to 165 kboepd, the mid-point of which is higher than a previous forecast of 150 to 165 kboepd.
"This reflects good progress to date on the maintenance shutdowns and our UK capital projects which are on track to materially increase production in the fourth quarter," the company said in a statement.
Reporting by Arunima Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Eileen Soreng and Christopher Cushing
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