Serica Energy lowers guidance amid production interruption

29th Oct 2024 09:37

(Sharecast News) - Serica Energy reported an interruption in production via the Triton FPSO on Tuesday, following a potential dry gas seal failure identified in the 'A' gas compressor on 26 October.

The AIM-traded firm said that while no hydrocarbons were leaked, repairs were underway under the supervision of the FPSO operator Dana Petroleum.

It said the interruption would impact its full-year production guidance, initially set toward the lower end of the 41,000 to 46,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day range, which relied on sustaining production at 50,000 daily barrels in the fourth quarter.

With the Triton FPSO temporarily offline, Serica said it now expected 2024 output to fall slightly below that guidance.

Efforts to mitigate operational risks included bringing a second compressor into service on the Triton FPSO; however, the timing for that had been pushed to the first quarter of 2025 due to the repair work on the current compressor.

Despite the Triton disruption, production from Serica's other assets remained in line with expectations, supported by recent gas price strength, with the October market price averaging 97.9p per therm - the highest level seen in 2024.

The company anticipated issuing a trading and operations update in mid-November, by which point Triton production was expected to resume.

Additionally, Serica said it planned to bring production from the GE-05 well on the Gannet field - 100% owned by Serica - online shortly after the Triton FPSO was back in operation.

At 0910 GMT, shares in Serica Energy were down 0.91% at 126.14p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.