Burren Energy pre-tax profits leap 163%

Burren Energy upgraded its reserves estimates for a key oilfield today after making “substantial” progress in its first year as a listed company.

The London-based firm, founded by Irishman Finian O'Sullivan, now chief executive, unveiled a 163% hike in pre-tax profits to £48.5m (€37.7m) in the year to December 31, ahead of analysts’ expectations, as it benefited from sky-high oil prices.

Reserve estimates for oilfields in Congo, including the key M’Boundi site in which Burren has a 35% stake, were upgraded to 64.5 million barrels from 23 million previously.

This helped increase the group’s proven and probable reserves by 26 million barrels to 146 million barrels, although this would have been higher if it was not for Burren’s use of a higher oil price forecast.

Burren, which started operating in 1994, has its core producing assets in the Caspian state of Turkmenistan and the Republic of Congo, West Africa.

It employs some 20 people at its London headquarters, 750 in Turkmenistan and contracts out work in Congo to another company.

The group produced an average of 14,200 barrels of oil per day in the year to December 31, 74% higher than last year.

Chief executive O’Sullivan said: “During 2004, Burren has made substantial strides forward.”

Burren said the outlook for 2005 was good and that it would continue to rapidly develop its assets in order to speed up production and make the most of another year of high oil prices.

The cost of crude oil has soared significantly over the past year, and both New York light crude and London’s Brent oil hit fresh highs today.

The firm said it planned to lift net production from its present level of 20,400 barrels a day to at least 24,000 by the end of the year.

Analyst Richard Slape at stockbroker Seymour Pierce said the results looked “highly impressive”.

Shares lifted 3p to 523p today.