Shares in EnQuest PLC rose on Thursday, after the company boasted of its de-leveraged balance sheet and strong 2023 production.

EnQuest is London-based oil and gas production company with assets in the North Sea and Malaysia.

In 2023, EnQuest averaged 43,812 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, in line with the company’s guidance but below 2022r’s daily average of 47,259 barrels.

EnQuest’s estimated its operating costs for the year at around $370 million, below forecasts of $400 million and 2022’s figure of $396.5 million.

Capital costs and decommissioning costs were in line with the company’s guidance at around $160 million and $60 million, respectively.

Net debt was roughly $481 million as at December 31, down from $717.1 million a year prior.

EnQuest has reduced its gross debt by around $1.4 billion since the end of 2017, and the company said that all of its existing maturities have been extended to 2027, having settled a 7% sterling bond of £111.3 million in October 2023.

Looking ahead, EnQuest said that it remains focused on delivering results from its existing portfolio, but also using its balance sheet strength to ‘drive growth through acquisition’.

Net production averaged around 43,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in January, and EnQuest expects production to remain in the range of 41,000 to 45,000 boepd for the full year.

Operating expenses are expected to be around $415 million in 2024, alongside cash capital expenditure of $200 million and $70 million in decommissioning costs.

At its North Sea sites, EnQuest plans to execute a two-well drilling campaign at the Magnus drilling and production facility in the second half, and expects to complete the ongoing four-well platform drilling campaign at Golden Eagle in mid-2024.

Three infill wells and workovers are also planned in Malaysia during the year.

Chief Executive Officer Amjad Bseisu said: ‘EnQuest delivered another good year of operational performance in 2023...Having de-levered the business and with debt maturities reset to 2027, we now aim to build on that strong foundation, utilising our differentiated operating capability and tax assets as we pivot the business to refocus on future growth during 2024.’

The company expects to publish its full-year results on March 28.

Shares in EnQuest were up 7.2% at 13.01 pence per share in London on Thursday morning.

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