Aker BP reached a new production record of 453,000 boe/d in first-quarter 2023, up from the 432,000 boe/d produced in fourth-quarter 2022, driven by continued ramp-up of Equinor-operated North Sea Johan Sverdrup Phase 2 (Aker BP, 31.5733%) to the full field design capacity of 720,000 b/d (OGJ Online, Dec. 15, 2022).
Field development projects are on track, with detailed engineering and procurement ongoing and major contracts placed, the company said in a release Apr. 27.
Total income in the first quarter amounted to $3.310 billion, down from $3.826 billion in the previous quarter, mainly due to lower oil and gas prices, partly offset by an increase in volume sold.
The company reported operating profit of $1.961 million, down from $2.214 billion in fourth-quarter 2022. Net profit for the first quarter was $187 million, up from $112 million in fourth-quarter 2022. Free cash flow in first-quarter 2023 was $977 million, up from $98 million in fourth-quarter 2022.
Impairments amounted to $373 million mainly driven by the previously termination of the Troldhaugen project and by reduced short term forward prices leading to an impairment of technical goodwill allocated to the Edvard Grieg & Ivar Aasen CGU (OGJ Online, Apr. 19, 2023).
Exploration
Total exploration spend in the first quarter was $119 million, up from $60 million in fourth-quarter 2022.
The Gjegnalunden prospect in production license 867 (80% interest) was drilled in the quarter (OGJ Online, Jan. 11, 2023). Preliminary estimates place the size of the discovery at 3-9 MMboe. It is not considered to be commercial at present time.
The Styggehøe prospect in production license 1141 (70% interest), the Angulata prospect in production license 554 (30% interest), and the P-Graben appraisal well in production license 265 (27% interest) were all drilled in the quarter and concluded as dry.
Drilling of the Ve prospect, in production license 919 in the North Sea, was started in the first quarter and completed early in the second quarter. The well resulted in a small oil discovery with preliminary estimates of 3-5 MMboe. The licensees will assess the discovery together with other discoveries in the area regarding a possible development.
