Shares in North Sea oil producer Ithaca Energy (IAE) soared 13 per cent after the company announced flow test results from the first Stella field development well that greatly exceeded expectations. The well flowed at a maximum rate of 10,835 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), of which about 60 per cent was oil with the remainder 'liquids-rich' gas. This is way above previous guidance as all four scheduled development wells combined were expected to deliver the initial net production rate of 16,000 boepd when the project comes onstream in mid-2014.
Moreover, management said the flow rate was limited by the capacity of the equipment on the drilling rig - so potentially more upside remains. Another positive came as Ithaca affirmed "the capital expenditure and start-up target schedule for the GSA hub remain unchanged".
