UK's Harbour Energy raises 2026 output view on new Gulf of Mexico assets

Thu, 05th Mar 2026 09:12

* 2026 production forecast boosted by Waldorf, LLOG acquisitions

* Updated policy ties shareholder ⁠returns to free cash flow

* Harbour's UK production drops to under a third of total output (Updates with interview with CEO Linda Cook)

LONDON, March ‌5 (Reuters) - Britain's Harbour Energy raised its 2026 output outlook on Thursday, citing a strong start to the year helped ⁠by early contributions from its newly acquired LLOG assets in ⁠the Gulf of Mexico.

Harbour has been leaning on Wintershall Dea assets in Norway, Argentina and Mexico while cutting investment and jobs in the UK over what it calls an "uncompetitive tax regime".

The company's production in the UK has declined to less than a ‌third from over 80% around three years ago, Harbour CEO Linda Cook said in a call with reporters on Thursday.

Harbour expects 2026 production of 475,000-500,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, compared with a prior estimate of 435,000-455,000 boepd.

The earlier outlook had excluded the impact of its acquisitions of Waldorf in the UK and LLOG in the U.S., as well as the announced sale ‌of its Indonesian assets.

PRETAX PROFIT MORE THAN DOUBLES

Harbour posted $2.8 billion in profits before taxation in 2025, up from $1.2 billion a year prior.

Shares ‌in the company rose about 4% in early-morning trade on Thursday. A broader index of European energy companies rose around 0.1%.

British finance minister Rachel Reeves on Wednesday told oil and gas executives that she was still committed to removing a windfall tax on energy firms' profits, although the conflict in the Middle East has ‌made the timing of its end less certain.

"Certainly, we have a lot of overlapping interests with the chancellor," Harbour CEO Linda Cook told reporters in a call on Thursday. "That includes a desire ⁠to see ⁠increased investment, jobs and growth."

Harbour posted a deeper after-tax loss of $182 ‌million for the year ended December 31, 2025, widening from a year-ago loss of $93 million, as its tax bill more than doubled to $2.98 billion from $1.31 billion a year earlier.

Harbour has adopted an updated distributions policy which links ‌shareholder returns directly to free cash flow, allowing it to prioritise debt reduction when leverage is above its target, the company said on Thursday. (Reporting by Stephanie Kelly in London and Ankita Bora in Bengaluru; Editing by Sumana Nandy, Rashmi Aich and Jan Harvey)