United Oil & Gas PLC on Tuesday said revenue fell in the first half of the year due to a lower realised oil price per barrel and lower production in Egypt.
Shares in the London-based oil and gas company with projects in Egypt, Italy and the UK fell 26% to 1.33 pence each on Tuesday morning in London.
The company said it expected revenue in the first half of 2023 to be $6.4 million, down 35% from $9.8 million a year prior. This is alongside an expected 26% drop in the realised oil price per barrel from Egypt to $78 from $105.
On top of the lower price per barrel, the company’s output at the Abu Sennan licence, in which it holds a 22% working interest, contracted by 19% in the first half to an average of about 1,051 barrels of oil per day from 1,290 barrels a year ago.
Meanwhile, United Oil’s cash balance declined to about $550,000 as at June 30 from $3.8 million a year ago.
‘The continued impact of the macro-economic challenges affecting the Egyptian economy has resulted in increasing difficulty and foreign exchange cost to repatriate funds from our Egyptian operations,’ the company said.
Looking ahead, Chief Executive Officer Brian Larkin said: ‘We are cognisant of the short term challenges in Egypt and with this in mind are delighted to continue drilling in the second half, initially targeting one exploration and one appraisal well in this highly prospective licence. We look forward to announcing further details in due course.’
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