i3 Energy PLC (AIM:I3E, TSX:ITE, OTC:ITEEF) chief executive Majid Shafiq described the past financial year as a period of consolidation and organic growth that followed an active period of acquisitions in Canada.
At the same time, he noted that the first half of 2023 has seen continued activity and progress.
The company, in its results for the 12 months to the end of December 2022, reported production rates exceeding 24,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, generating some £208.4mln of annual revenue (up from £86.8mln in the prior year).
Profit after tax for 2022 was declared at £42mln, from £25.1mln in 2021, with net operating income marked at £131.7mln from £48.6mln and earnings (EBITDA) totalling £98mln compared with £30.2mln.
Operationally, i3 said that aggregate productivity met or exceeded management expectations whilst it highlighted the expansion with news wells in strategic areas, including the Simonette and Clearwater acreage in Alberta.
The company deployed some £75.8mln of capital spending to deliver a total of 31 wells during the year and it expanded it footprint in North America with the leaseholding increasing to 628,000 acres.
Discussing i3’s transformation and more recent progress, Majid Shaiq commented: “Commodity price strength in the second half of 2021 led us to pivot from growth via acquisitions to organic growth through the exploitation of our extensive inventory of drilling locations and in January 2022 we commenced our inaugural operated drilling program with an announced US$47mln budget.
“Based on the positive results from the wells drilled in Q1 2022, the Canadian capex program was expanded to circa US$90mln and during the course of the year we drilled a total of 20.1 net wells in Canada.
“The program was very successful with all wells meeting or exceeding management expectations in terms of production performance and costs versus budget.”
He added: “The first half of 2023 has seen continued operational and commercial activity.
“Our 2023 capital program has commenced with the pre-spring break component completed and we are very pleased to have repaid our outstanding debt and established a new C$100mln loan facility, which validates the quality and scale of our reserves base in Canada.”
Back in the UK North Sea, the company reached an important farm-out deal to bring new partner Europa Oil & Gas into the Serenity project where a single-well development is now under consideration by the joint venture.