North Sea oil and gas company Ithaca Energy has forecast higher 2025 production after recently acquiring the UK assets of Eni and said it is pressing ahead with the controversial Rosebank field.
Ithaca Energy acquired nearly all of Eni’s British oil and gas producing assets last year in an all-stock deal worth around £754 million, with an amibition to become one of the biggest independent energy companies in the region.
It expects full-year 2025 production in the range of 105,000-115,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), up from 80,200 last year.
The company wants to see oil flowing from the Rosebank field from 2026/27 after a court ruling in January that its consent had failed to take climate impact into account. It is now working with regulators and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to prepare a revised application.
It also said it would acquire Japan Petroleum Exploration’s (Japex) North Sea business for $193million. Japex holds a 15% working interest in the Seagull oil field.
Its full-year profit after tax fell to $153.2 million, from $292.6 million a year earlier as it was hit by increases to the Energy Profits Levy (EPL), or windfall tax.
Last year, Labour increased the levy, taking the headline tax rate on oil and gas activities to 78%, one of the highest rates globally.
Shares rose 8.3% or 11.8p, to 154p in early trade, as the group declared an interim dividend of $200m to be paid in April.
Executive chairman, Yaniv Friedman, said: “2024 was a transformational year for Ithaca Energy, having made material progress across our strategic objectives creating value organically and inorganically.
“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.”
