EnQuest confident in meeting 2026 production guidance

(Sharecast News) - EnQuest said on Friday that it remained confident of meeting its 2026 production guidance, as the oil and gas producer highlighted operational recovery in the UK and continued growth in South East Asia.

In an annual general meeting statement, chief executive Amjad Bseisu said EnQuest's year-to-date output was averaging 41,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day, supporting its unchanged guidance of 41,000 to 45,000 boepd for the year.

He said the group had recovered strongly from a five-week third-party outage at the Ninian Central Platform in the first quarter, which affected the Magnus field.

In 2025, production efficiency across EnQuest's operated portfolio was 89%, despite the outage impact on Magnus.

Bseisu said EnQuest operated 97% of its 2P reserves, giving it direct control over asset performance and capital allocation, while 78% of its 2P reserve base was classified as 1P proven reserves.

He said the conflict in Iran had changed the commodity price environment, boosting group cash generation, but added that EnQuest remained focused on optimising the value of every activity, decision and spend.

The company said it had strengthened its balance sheet over the past five to six years through operational delivery and disciplined debt reduction.

Over the last six months, EnQuest refinanced its reserve-based lending facility and bonds at lower costs of capital, and completed the settlement of the Magnus contingent consideration.

Bseisu said the settlement gave EnQuest full exposure to the value of Magnus at a time of high commodity prices and significant organic opportunity, describing it as a standout transaction for shareholder value creation and credit enhancement.

In South East Asia, EnQuest added Vietnam to its production portfolio in 2025, secured an extension to its Vietnam production sharing contract after six months of operatorship, and delivered first gas from its Seligi 1b development in December, nine months ahead of schedule.

The group is also progressing low-capex development opportunities at DEWA in Malaysia and Block C in Brunei.

It expects its South East Asia portfolio to deliver 35,000 boepd net to EnQuest by 2030, and said it was focused on further regional growth through acquisitions of production assets with robust decline curves and minimal capital expenditure requirements.

In the UK, EnQuest's six-well drilling programme at Magnus is under way.

Excluding the major Bressay and Bentley developments, the group has more than 200 million barrels of oil equivalent of contingent resources, including more than 60 million barrels at Magnus and Kraken.

The company said it was progressing projects to convert contingent resources into reserves, including Kraken enhanced oil recovery and targeting significant volumes from the Lower Kimmeridge Clay Formation at Magnus.

Bseisu said EnQuest was also working on a number of transactional projects in the UK North Sea and South East Asia, with the aim of delivering a step change in scale and shareholder value.

He added that the group's stronger financial position had allowed it to build on last year's maiden dividend with a proposed $20m dividend, subject to shareholder approval.

"We remain committed to returning capital to shareholders and will continue to do so on a sustainable basis," he said.

At 1030 BST, shares in EnQuest were up 1.47% at 19.36p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

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