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Friday, 29 August, 2008, 01:20 GMT | more prices >>

PA slashes forecast on Volve delay



By Upstream staff 

Start-up delays at the Volve development, off Norway, have forced Swedish explorer PA Resources to slash its output forecasts for this year and next year.

The move comes after PA booked third quarter profits which came in below expectations on the back of slightly weaker quarterly production.

PA said it expects to pump an average of 16,000 barrels of oil per day by the the end of this year, down from the 23,000 bpd given earlier. Next year, the Swedish company said it expected output to average 22,000 bpd, down from its earlier forecast of 25,000 bpd.

Volve was due to come on stream during the third quarter of this year, but operator StatoilHydro has pushed back first production to the end of the fourth quarter.

However, PA added that its long-term targets remain unchanged, with production levels expected to hit about 50,000 bpd in 2011.

"This forecast does not include the new discovery in Equatorial Guinea," it said.

"The increase in production is expected to come from Norway during 2007 and from Tunisia and Norway during 2008."

The revised guidance came as PA posted third-quarter results below consensus expectations.

For the quarter, PA posted operating profits of Skr433.2 million ($68.3 million), up on last year's Skr197.1 million, but below the Skr517 million consensus forecast, a Thomson Financial report said.

Sales came in at Skr761.8 million, up from Skr338.5 million the previous year and ahead of the Skr738 million forecast.

Average production during the third quarter came to 17,250 bpd, up from 8,555 at the same point last year, but marginally below expectations.


Wednesday, 14 November, 2007, 09:36 GMT  | last updated: Wednesday, 14 November, 2007, 09:36 GMT

Building blocks: one of the process modules to be put into action at Volve
 

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