Ithaca Energy Reports Second Quarter 2013 Results

Ithaca Energy Reports Second Quarter 2013 Results

Ithaca Energy Inc. reports estimated second quarter 2013 production results and provides an operational update ahead of its 2013 Annual and Special Shareholders Meeting.

Q2-2013 Production

With three days to the end of the quarter, net export production in Q2-2013 is anticipated to be close to 14,000 boepd, including a full quarter’s pro-forma contribution from the assets acquired as a result of the Valiant acquisition. Oil production is forecast to account for approximately 95% of the total.

The fields produced strongly during the quarter, although, as anticipated, production was impacted by planned maintenance shutdowns on a number of assets, including the Company operated Beatrice Area infrastructure (approximately 25 days) and Anglia, together with the non-operated Topaz field. Scheduled shutdowns were also incurred on the Shell operated Anasuria floating production, storage and offloading vessel that serves as the host facility for the Cook field to enable the re-start of production from another field that uses the vessel.

Operations Update

Dons

Infill drilling activities are currently on-going on the EnQuest operated Don Southwest field. An additional production well on the field has just been completed and is being brought online over the next few days through the “Northern Producer” host facility infrastructure. The rig is currently preparing to commence drilling of a water injection well in the same area of the field, to support production and reserves recovery from that area.

Athena

During the quarter the Athena field completed its first full year of operations, with gross production of over 3.6 million barrels having been produced to date.

Gross daily production from the field is currently at a reduced level, primarily as a function of one of the four producing wells, the “P2″ well, being temporarily shut-in awaiting a repair to the electrical cable serving that particular well. A diving support vessel has been contracted to perform the necessary operations to fix the electrical fault and reinstatement of production from the well is anticipated within the next few weeks.

During the quarter, the Athena field commenced the production of water with oil. This is significantly later than originally anticipated. As previously noted, the evolution of the water production profile will now provide important information for forecasting the ultimate field production profile and the scope for future potential upside investment opportunities.

Causeway Area

Drilling activities on the Causeway water injection well and the Fionn production well were completed in March 2013, prior to completion of the Valiant acquisition on 19 April 2013. Since taking control of the assets, the Company has completed the subsea tie-in works required to enable the Fionn well to be put into production and is working closely with Taqa, the operator of the Causeway Area host infrastructure, to facilitate start-up of the installed electrical submersible pumps (“ESPs”) and (Causeway) water injection as soon as practicable.

The flow tests that have been performed on the Fionn well since completion of the subsea tie-in works have confirmed that the well has the potential to flow at considerably better rates if sidetracked to a more optimal location (the well is a re-completed appraisal well).

The Company has decided to utilise a rig option originally held by Valiant to sidetrack the Fionn well. It is anticipated that drilling operations will commence towards the end of 2013. The well will be sidetracked to a location updip of the existing well to better optimise access to the prime reservoir formation and to target potential upside reserves in a secondary reservoir.

H2-2013 Production Outlook

Total forecast production for H2-2013 is expected to be within the Company’s guidance range of 14,000 to 16,000 boepd, supported by production enhancement activities notably on the Don Southwest field.

Production in H2-2013 will be impacted by the second phase of planned maintenance shutdown activity on the host facilities serving the Company’s fields. Most significantly, there will an approximately six week shutdown of the Causeway Area fields as a result of maintenance activities on the Taqa operated Cormorant infrastructure that serves the fields.

Appointment of Norwegian General Manager

Building upon the Company’s previously announced success in the recent Norwegian 22nd Licensing Round, the Company also announces that it has appointed a new General Manager of its Norwegian subsidiary; details of which will be announced upon the new General Manager joining the Company. This demonstrates the Company’s continuing commitment to a focused strategy on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.

Annual & Special Shareholders Meeting Presentation

A short presentation covering the Company’s on-going operational and corporate activities will be given at the 2013 Annual & Special Shareholders Meeting in Calgary, Canada. The presentation contains unchanged data on future production and cashflows. Updated information on the future oil price hedges executed by the Company is included in the presentation.

[mappress]
Press Release, June 27, 2013