Harbour Energy says its acquisition of Waldorf’s UK assets is close to completion and will support the “resilience and longevity” of its North Sea business.
The update came as the London-listed energy producer reported a strong first quarter operational performance, with production rising to 506,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (kboepd), supported by growth in Norway and the completion of its major US Gulf of America acquisition from LLOG.
In a trading update issued ahead of its AGM on Thursday, Harbour said the Waldorf transaction would deliver “significant financial synergies”.
The deal is being closely watched in Aberdeen given Harbour’s position as one of the UK North Sea’s largest producers and employers.
Harbour said UK activity during the quarter included farming into the Ithaca Energy-operated Fotla discovery, taking a 45% stake in the oil and gas project.
The company added that a final investment decision for a two-well development linked to Harbour’s Greater Britannia Area hub is targeted before the end of the year.
Globally, Harbour generated $700million (£515million) of free cash flow during the first quarter, while revenues rose to $3billion.
Chief Executive Linda Cook said ongoing geopolitical instability had created “unprecedented disruption” across global energy markets.
She said: “The conflict in the Middle East has created unprecedented disruption to energy markets, restricting oil and gas flows and driving significant price volatility. Against this backdrop, we remain focused on playing our part in delivering the oil and gas the world needs, safely and efficiently.
“Strong operational reliability and execution across our portfolio enabled us to deliver more than half a million barrels of oil and gas per day in the first quarter. We also completed the acquisition of LLOG in the US and made good progress on our pipeline of active and future project developments.
“Our strong first quarter has allowed us to narrow upwards our production guidance for the full year and, supported by the current commodity price environment, increase our free cash flow outlook for 2026. As a result, we see the potential for accelerated debt reduction while maintaining competitive shareholder returns and disciplined investment in our portfolio, in line with our capital allocation framework.”