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(Sharecast News) - PetroTal reported higher quarterly production and a solid financial position on Tuesday, maintaining its 2025 output guidance despite temporary operational disruptions at its flagship Bretana oil field in Peru.
For the three months ended 30 September, group production averaged 18,414 barrels of oil per day, up 21% from a year earlier.
Output for the year to date averaged 20,894 barrels per day, also a 21% increase.
The company said production at Bretana was temporarily below capacity during the quarter due to leaks in production tubing that led to the shut-in of five wells.
A service rig was now on site to replace the tubing and restore output by the end of October, with volumes expected to ramp up through November and December.
"PetroTal's preliminary third quarter results show that the company continues to deliver steady year-on-year production growth, even though the Bretana field has been producing below capacity for a substantial portion of the third quarter," said president and chief executive Manuel Pablo Zuniga-Pflucker.
"I am confident that our technical team has addressed the root cause of the previously disclosed leaks in our production tubing and am pleased to report that a service rig is already back on site, preparing to replace the faulty tubing."
He added that the company would provide further updates when it releases full third-quarter financial results on 13 November.
PetroTal produced 17,938 barrels per day from the Bretana field and 476 barrels per day from the Los Angeles field during the quarter, with cumulative output for the year reaching 5.7 million barrels.
The company's annual production guidance remains unchanged at 20,000-21,000 barrels per day.
It also reported progress on its erosion control project at Bretana, where piling work had started on the first of five breakwaters.
PetroTal said it planned to import its own drilling rig to Peru in early 2026, with development drilling expected to resume in the second quarter.
At the Los Angeles field, PetroTal completed a workover campaign in September and was assessing results before determining further action.
The company ended the quarter with total cash of $141.5m, including $108.8m of unrestricted cash, up from $99.3m at the end of June.
Restricted cash of $32.7m included $25.2m held in escrow under its COFIDE loan.
Accounts receivable stood at $56.6m and payables at $51.9m.
PetroTal maintained oil price hedges on about one million barrels through March 2026, using costless collars with a Brent floor of $65 per barrel and a ceiling of $82.50 per barrel, capped at $102.50.
The company said the hedges had a current value of about $3.2m.
At 1311 BST, PetroTal shares were down 1.56% at 32.39p.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.