Ithaca hit by delays to planned maintenance shutdowns

North Sea focused oil and gas company Ithaca Energy has reported third quarter production at 5,061 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), an increase of 28 per cent on the previous quarter. The three month period was boosted by the first full quarter's contribution from the Athena field and strong performance from the Beatrice and Jacky fields, which have compensated for the anticipated reduction in Cook and Broom production during the quarter due to planned maintenance shutdowns.However, the shutdown at the Cook Field took 20 days longer than the planned 50, ending instead earlier this month. The firm said that production from the Athena field has stabilised at a gross daily rate of between 10,000 and 11,000 barrels of oil per day, of which 2,250 to 2,475 is net to Ithaca. Production for the current quarter is forecast to be in the range of 6,300 to 6,900 boepd, including the net contribution anticipated from the Cook and MacCulloch field interests being acquired from Noble Energy. The share price fell 1.3% to 123.25p by late morning.NR