Report for the three months ended 31 March 2021 - Seite 2

“I am pleased to note that performance in the first quarter of 2021 has been about delivery on all fronts, which combined with the oil price recovery, yielded record financial results. And whilst the challenges of COVID-19 are still with us, we’ve continued to keep our main business activities on track.

“Our world class producing assets continue to outperform with excellent production efficiency, along with a strong HSE track record, driving our production for the quarter above the mid-point of the guidance range, whilst also maintaining our industry leading low operating costs.

“Johan Sverdrup continues to exceed expectations. Phase 1 production capacity is about to step-up to 535 Mbopd gross, and I expect, when the impact on the full field capacity has been assessed, we will see an increase above the current guidance of 720 Mbopd. Phase 2 of the project is progressing well with the offshore installation programme set to commence this quarter and remains on track for first oil in the fourth quarter of 2022.

“At the Greater Edvard Grieg Area, the projects that support the long-term plateau extension are on schedule, with the Edvard Grieg infill well programme underway and the Solveig and Rolvsnes projects set for first oil in the third quarter. I also see lot’s more to come, with the new opportunities we are progressing in the area.

“With the projects we have underway we remain on target to deliver growth to over 200 Mboepd by 2023. I’m confident we can sustain at these levels with a pipeline of new projects that are being matured and an exciting exploration programme, targeting material resources.

“Financially we had a record quarter, with revenue of USD 1.1 billion, which delivered significant free cash flow of MUSD 526. This really shows the quality and resilience of our business, allowing us to fund growth, cover dividends and deleverage; reducing net debt to below USD 3.5 billion.

“We continue to make good progress decarbonising our operations, with everything in place to achieve carbon neutrality from 2025. Our recent commitment to the Karskruv wind farm in Sweden ensures that by end 2023, over 95 percent of our oil production will be powered by our own generated renewable energy. Leveraging our industry leading low emissions position, we recently announced the world’s first certified, carbon neutrally produced crude oil sale, which I believe will be the first of many, and will become a key value differentiator for Lundin Energy.