Ithaca Energy forecasts higher production and doubles down on Rosebank start date
Ithaca Energy said production at Rosebank will begin in 2026/27 despite a landmark January court ruling which deemed approval of the Scottish oil field unlawful.
The London-listed firm said it was working closely with regulators and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) on a revised application.
It expects total capital costs for the project to fall in the range of $190m to $230m (£147m to £178m), after spending around $198m in 2024. Ithaca has a 20 per cent stake in Rosebank with Norway’s Equinor owning the rest.
The Aberdeen-based firm on Monday announced its full-year results, declaring an interim dividend of $200m for investors.
However, profit dipped significantly from $292.6m to $153.2m as it took a significant hit from increases to the Energy Profits Levy (EPL), otherwise known as the windfall tax. Basic earnings per share decreased from ¢29.1 to ¢13.2.
Both pre-tax earnings (EBITDAX) and revenue also fell, which the energy company blamed on lower production volumes and realised prices in comprison to 2023.
Oil production targets
Looking ahead the North Sea oil and gas company forecast higher production in 2025, boosted by its recent $975.8m acquisition of the UK assets of Eni.
Production is expected to come in at between 105 to 115 kboe/d (barrels of oil equivalent per day).
“2024 was a transformational year for Ithaca Energy, having made material progress across our strategic objectives creating value organically and inorganically,” executive chairman Yaniv Friedman said.
“We enter our next era of growth, with a proven strategy and a range of strategic options for growth.
“Our focus in 2025 will continue to be on high-grading investment across our range of growth opportunities, executing in line with our strategy as a value-led investor, to maximise long-term sustainable shareholder value through growth and distributions.”