London-based Ophir Energy, the developer of the Fortuna FLNG project in Equatorial Guinea, on Thursday, reported a pre-tax loss of US$70 million in the first half of 2016.
In its report, Ophir sad that the lower commodity price environment of 2015 continued during the early months of 2016, with Brent prices falling to a low of approximately $27.00/bbl, before recovering towards $50.00/bbl in June.
Nick Cooper , Ophir Energy’s chief executive said that the company is preparing to return to a considered pace of exploration drilling for late 2016 in order to take advantage of lower exploration costs.
However, with the increased commodity price outlook, the company’s underlying post-tax cash flow from production for the full year 2016 is forecast to deliver between $50 million and $70 million or $15/bbl to $23/bbl.
With plans to lower the activity due to continued commodity price, Ophir has further cut its capital expenditure forecast for the year to between $140 million and $170 million, down from $150 million to $200 million.