UNIOR stockmarket-listed Ithaca Energy yesterday pledged $360m (£224m) in development on a North Sea oil field.
This year’s investment programme for North Sea-focused Ithaca will be concentrated on the Greater Stella Area (GSA) development, in which Ithaca holds a 55 per cent interest.
The drilling in the area, which is approximately 238km south east of Peterhead in Scotland, is expected to begin in the first quarter of this year, and will be funded from existing cash resources and from its current debt facility.
Meanwhile, the explorer reported a 31 per cent jump in output year on year in the fourth quarter, up to 610,070 barrels of oil equivalent, or 6,631 barrels of oil a day.
This year, production is expected to be in the range of 6,000 to 6,700 barrels of oil a day, with around 80 per cent of output coming from the Cook, Athena, Beatrice and Jacky fields in the UK’s North Sea.
Ithaca Energy shares closed down 6.51 per cent yesterday at 125.75p.
