Aker BP Q1 beats forecast as costs fall, Tyrving to start sooner (updated)

Aker ASA

24/04/2024 07:34

(Adds CEO quote, details on costs, Tyrving project, dividend in
paragraphs 3-10)
       OSLO, April 24 (Reuters) - Norwegian independent oil
company Aker BP  AKRBP.OL  on Wednesday posted a
higher-than-expected net profit for the first quarter as costs
fell, and said its Tyrving field development could start
production sooner than previously planned.
    The company, partly owned by BP  BP.L , reported a net
profit of $531 million for January-March, up from $187 million a
year earlier, beating a $470 million forecast in a
company-compiled poll of analysts.
    "Our oil and gas production increased while we maintained
low costs and kept emissions in check," CEO Karl Johnny Hersvik
said in a statement.
        Brokers DNB said the results beat was mainly driven by
low-than-expected production costs, which were down to $6.1 per
barrel produced from $7.2 in the first quarter of 2023.
  
        The costs were also below the company's 2024 full-year
guidance of around $7 per barrel. 
  
        Aker BP's Chief Financial Officer David Toenne told a
call with reporters that the costs fell from a year ago due to
lower power prices and maintenance, and were below the guidance
partly due to the weaker Norwegian crown currency.
  
        Aker BP also said its Tyrving subsea development in the
Alvheim area of the North Sea was "progressing towards an
accelerated start-up" in the fourth quarter versus the beginning
of 2025 previously.
  
        In January, environmentalists won a case at a lower
court against the government for approving Aker BP's Tyrving and
Yggdrasil projects, but a court of appeal 
    has put on hold
     a suspension of further development until the case is
heard.
  
        "With the court decision to defer the temporary
injunction, the risks of the project schedules have been
significantly reduced," the company said.
  

 (Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis, editing by Terje Solsvik)
 ((nerijus.adomaitis@thomsonreuters.com; +47 9027 6699; Reuters
Messaging: nerijus.adomaitis.thomsonreuters@reuters.net))