Record production, especially from a newly acquired stake in the giant Johan Sverdrup field, and elevated oil and gas prices boosted Aker BP’s third-quarter earnings.
Net profit reached $783 million, up from $188 million in the previous three months and $206 million in the same quarter one year ago.
Earnings were boosted by the inclusion of assets that came with the acquisition of Sweden’s Lundin Energy.
“A fantastic operational performance and continued high pricing environment, in particular in gas, led to a very strong financial performance in the quarter,” chief financial officer David Tonne said on Wednesday.
The Lundin assets included a 31.57% stake in the Equinor-operated Johan Sverdrup oilfield in the North Sea, the largest offshore development in Norway since the 1980s.
Record production
Aker BP’s production hit a record high of 412,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, up from 181,000 boepd in the previous quarter, before the acquisition was concluded.
Johan Sverdrup contributed 162,000 boepd to this, and first oil from the second phase of development at this field is expected in provide a major boost in December, according to chief executive Karl Johnny Hersvik.
When a new processing platform enters into operation in December, overall production capacity will reach 690,000 barrels per day.
A development plan (PDO) for Noaka development — a 600-million-barrel oil and gas discovery located between the Oseberg and Alvheim fields in the North Sea — is due to be submitted to Norwegian regulators in December this year, he added.
The development plan for the Valhall/Fenris is also due in December, with a planned production start in 2027.
Hersvik said: “Aker BP has a unique resource base, and over the last couple of years we have been working systematically to mature field development projects with combined resources of around 900 million boe net to Aker BP.”
“This work is now nearing completion, and we are currently aiming to submit PDOs for these projects by the end of 2022, and hence qualify for the temporary tax rules which were introduced in 2020.”
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