BW Energy Limited (BWE) Earnings Call Transcript
August 1, 2025
Earnings Call Speaker Segments
Welcome to BW Energy's Second Quarter 2025 Presentation. [Operator Instructions] This call is being recorded. I will now hand it over to your speakers. Please begin.
Thank you, operator. A warm welcome to the second quarter 2025 presentation by BW Energy. This presentation will be hosted by myself, Carl Arnet; and Brice Morlot, our CFO. Then straight into the highlights of the second quarter. We had a solid operational performance, which gave us an EBITDA in the second quarter of $99 million. And we had a second quarter net profit of $26.7 million. Our cash position is excellent at $192.9 million. All our projects are on track, and our Maromba financing activities are progressing according to plans. And we have a robust financial position. The strong operational performance was caused by, of course, very good production availability on Dussafu with 99%. We also had Golfinho production availability at 80%, a bit below our expectations, but still okay. We're working with the -- as you may remember, the project, the Boost project to improve on the Golfinho, but we are currently seeing stable good production also from Golfinho. The first half year of 2025 gave us a production of 6.2 million barrels, 34,200 barrels per day, which is according to our expectations and indicates a bit of -- or some reduced production due to a decline. The guidance for 2025, as you may remember, is 11 million to 12 million barrels, and we are doing well with respect to the guidance. The OpEx also developed very much in line with our expectations. We had a second quarter 2025 OpEx per barrel of $20.4, which gave us $18.3 per barrel for the first half of 2025. The second quarter was affected by the mentioned decline in barrels, which gives, of course, a smaller denominator. And we had some one-off costs related to taking over the operatorship of BW Adolo, the FPSO. Of course, we expect to achieve synergies with time when these 2 operations are carried out by 1 company rather than 2. And we are on track to meet our target for 2025 with $18 to $22 per barrel. So Dussafu very much continues to deliver. We had a very strong first half with 27,700 barrels per day net production to the company and our production availability has been excellent. The 2P2C recoverable reserves on Dussafu stands at 123 million barrels. And we are currently working on the MaBoMo Phase 2, where we expect to add 14 million barrels, and we planned execution of that in 2026. The Maromba project is progressing according to our plans. The FPSO refurbishment on the yard in China is going well. And we are currently working full steam on steel replacement and the upgrades we have planned. The rig delivery is now expected in August, a bit ahead of our initial expectations, which are good. And we have -- we are progressing well on the preparations to take over the rig and do the necessary conversions or upgrades to that in the yard. All detailed engineering subcontracts are in place, and we are progressing with the detailed engineering and we have placed all the long lead items or the contracts for the long lead items. So no negatives to report. Everything is going according to plan, and our schedules look very realistic at this point in time. So we don't see any ripples or anything that says we're out of kilter. So very happy with the development on Maromba project. So we are, I would say, progressing on all our high-value organic growth projects, Maromba, Golfinho, Boost and MaBoMo Phase 2, that will, of course, add all significant to BW Energy. We have 3 feed activities going on Bourdon, our rig most recent discovery on Dussafu, where we had the current accounting as 2C resources of 14 million barrels net to company. This is based on, of course, the wells we drilled on Bourdon, where we did one discovery and a delineation well. We drilled 3 wells or 3 -- 1 well with 3 side tracks. So this is the first. We do see a lots of more potential on Bourdon and thereby Bourdon. So we will definitely be coming back with a proposal for a separate development. Last but not least is our appraisal and exploration activities, where with our appraisal well in Kudu. We have, as you may have noticed, we have contracted the rig to carry out the Kharas appraisal well. The Kharas 1 appraisal well and we expect to spud in the fourth quarter and carry out the drilling in 2026 -- or 20 -- sorry, 2025, according to our plans. So this will very much put us on track to deliver industry-leading growth. We are looking at close to tripling our production from current levels in 2028. And this is from a very consistently developed resource space. We have been able to grow it over the years. As you see from this caption on the left-hand side, and we still have a lot of runway with our 2C resources. As you can see on the left, with 388 million barrels, where we are working hard to unlock these resources as well. But the resource base for the company is excellent. So with that, I will leave the word to Brice that will take you through the financials and some wrapping up comments.
Thank you, Carl. As we move into a period of increasing project activity, I'm pleased to report that BW Energy continued to maintain a strong financial position. Our operating assets are delivering solid underlying cash flow, and our balance sheet remains robust with hamper liquidity and low leverage. Following the second quarter, we are also approaching completion of several key project financing processes. This will further strengthen our liquidity buffer, ensuring we are well positioned to navigate this transformative phase for the company. Altogether, our financial strength provides a solid foundation to capitalize on the significant value creation opportunities in our portfolio. So now let's take a closer look at the financial developments for the quarter. Starting with the top line. We continue to deliver production in line with expectations, but we had less liftings. So sales came down to 2.8 million barrels this quarter. Some of this is offset by 240,000 barrel increase in our end quarter inventory position. The realized prices were, as usual, in line with Brent, averaging $67 per barrel, which is a decrease of 11% compared to the previous quarter. So the combination of volume and pricing resulted in total revenue of $193 million. We are -- our cash position is solid. On the cash flow side, operating cash flow ended at $162 million for the first half. We had an increase in working capital. This is driven primarily by sales proceeds in Gabon because the June lifting was not yet collected in cash at the end of June. Investment during the first half were $175 million, $ 110 million of investment in Gabon and the Bourdon exploration well. $41 million for the Maromba development and smaller investments on Golfinho and the preparation for the drilling of Kudu that we intend to spud in the second half of the year for $11.5 million. As we move into the second half of the year, we expect an increase in capital expenditure, but this is in line with the higher project activity. But in the same time, we anticipate a rise in cash flows from financing activities as we expect to close several project financing processes in the coming quarter. So in summary, we maintain a comfortable cash position, which provides solid foundation for our investment program. Turning to the balance sheet. Our net interest-bearing debt currently stands at $421 million, which provide -- which compares with our 12 months rolling EBITDA of $553 million. So the result is a strong net debt-to-EBITDA ratio of 0.8. And I'm also pleased to report that our current equity ratio remains above 40% at 46%. This is indicating a healthy balance between equity and debt. On the liquidity side, our position -- liquidity position remains strong. In addition to our cash results, we have $70 million available through an undrawn credit facility, the RBL, which in sum reached $263 million, the loss of total available liquidity. As of the end of the quarter, we have a mix of financing instruments in place, most of which mature after Maromba begins generating cash. We currently have one bond outstanding of $100 million. And during the second quarter, in June, we tested the market with the intention of issuing a second bond. However, we choose to postpone this process as a more attractive financing alternatives became available for the company. But with that said, we will likely return to the market when the timing is more favorable. We will share more details on other financing arrangements, when the processes are finalized in the coming weeks. Maromba remains the key focus area for both our projects and financing teams. We have an efficient capital deployment. On the left-hand side of our financing plan, we have outlined the various sources of funding. We will enter into a dedicated financing arrangement for the Maromba FPSO with SINOSURE. For the rig to where the platform conversion for Maromba, we will pursue a leaseback arrangement similar to the successful approach we implemented with MaBoMo and Dussafu and Gabon. And in addition of our operating assets -- in addition of that, our operating assets continue to generate strong cash flow. We estimate that the assets will contribute between $600 million to $1 billion in cash over the period, assuming a Brent price between $60 and $80 per barrel. So to cover the additional liquidity needs, we are in process of securing a separate bank facility backed by our main shareholder of the BW Group and we will provide further details on the terms once the facility is finalized in the coming quarter. So altogether, this gives us a total financing capacity of approximately $2 billion, providing ample headroom to pursue our range of organic growth opportunity. And on the right side, you can see that we outlined the intended uses of the capital. We expect to spend roughly $1 billion on Maromba, prior first oil with the first 6 wells, which represent about half of our total financing. And after first oil, we expect that Maromba will be sales funding for the second phases of the development. So alongside Maromba, we will also invest in other high-value projects. We continue to invest in the assets we have, including Golfinho Boost, the project to improve the wells activation. There will be MaBoMo Phase 2 on Dussafu for additional wells to maintain the plateau and the well on Kudu, appraisal well in Namibia, coming -- in the coming months. All of these will be executed, while maintaining a robust liquidity position, ensuring financial flexibility and resilience through the cycle. With that, let's now take a look on how we are tracking against our target for 2025. On the production, we have had a strong start to the year with production averaging 34,000 barrels per day. This is primarily driven by the solid performance of Gabon on Dussafu. With this -- while this has exceeded our full year guidance, we are not making any adjustments at this stage as we anticipate approximately 3 weeks of planned maintenance in August on the Dussafu during the third quarter. Operating cost per barrel, we remained well aligned with production levels, and we are on track to respect our guidance. However, similar to production, we are not revising our guidance at this point. CapEx, the capital expenditure for the first half came in at $180 million, which is relatively low, but fully in line with the expectation. This reflects the timing of our investment cycle as we have now entered the execution phase for the Maromba and the Golfinho Boost. Accordingly, we expect capital spending to increase in the second half of '25 as the project activity intensifies. And G&A, general and administrative expenses, we have also developed in line with our expectation, and we are maintaining the estimated and communicated guidance at the beginning of the year. So to conclude our last slide of the presentation, we are pleased with our year-to-date performance and the momentum we've built. We are delivering on our strategy to create long-term value as a fast-growing E&P company. We have a diversified portfolio of high-quality assets, a strong cash flow generation and a robust balance sheet. And we are actively progressing a number of development projects that will drive high growth, setting up on track to nearly triple the production -- the net production to above 90,000 barrel per day by 2028. And on the financial capacity, we have a resilient balance sheet, disciplined capital allocation and the Maromba financing is nearing completion. So we are well positioned to fund our growth and deliver sustained long-term value for shareholders. That bring us to the end of the presentation, and then I leave the word back to the operator for questions from the audience, and then we will continue with the questions we have received from the web.
[Operator Instructions] The first question is from the line of Teodor Nilsen from SB1 Market.
A few questions from me. First, on the Golfinho Boost project, can you just take us through status there and also remind us of what kind of production level you assume and the end of the Boost project? Second question, that is on the RCF. It looks like the same shareholder loan that you previously, talked about now must reach it, as we [indiscernible] RCF, is that correct? And my third question that is on the working capital. I understand that working capital investments in Q1 was mainly related to a lifting in late June. Could you just confirm that, that has reversed now, i.e., that Q3 operation cash flow will be much higher than in Q2?
Okay. Teodor, I'll take the first question. I didn't catch your second question because there was some breakup on the line. But anyway, Golfinho boost production, we're targeting about 2,000 barrels of increased production from the Boost project. We do have, of course, as always, some natural decline. So we produce on a good day, from Golfinho around 7,000. And then we have the FPSO downtime or the field downtime of about 80%. But the Boost itself is estimated to give about 2,000 barrels per day.
Yes. And for the working capital questions, while we are producing very well and generating a stronger cash flow for the first quarter. But we had a working capital effect of $61 million impacting the cash flow. This is due to the lifting in June that was paid in July, so in the third quarter. And that's the explanation. And the second question wasn't very clear. The line was not okay. So if you can...
I can repeat the second question? Can you hear me now?
Yes, we can hear you now.
Yes. The second question was on RCF -- yes, the second question was on the RCF. It looks like that is the same as the shareholder loan that you previously have talked about. Is that correct? And can you just say something about the terms on that RCF?
Yes. So as you remember, in June, we tested the market with the intention of issuing a second bond. However, we choose to postpone the process because we had more attractive financing alternatives, and we are now progressing with the corporate facility. This will be a commercial facility through banks backed by our main shareholder, BW Group, up to $250 million. And for the other financing solution, the Maromba FPSO, ECA is progressing according to plan. The FPSO financing is subject to SINOSURE policy insurance and whether it's platform lease financing is in final agreement stages. And all final documentation are progressing very well, and we will issue a dedicated press release at closing in the coming weeks.
Okay. And then just a follow-up to Carl's comments on Golfinho Boost. You talked about 2,000 barrels per day and that the current production is 7,000 on a good day. But there will be some underlying decline. Does that mean that we should expect like 8,000, 9,000 per day may be in 2027 from Golfinho? Is that a fair estimate?
I think 8,000 to 9,000 is a fair estimate, yes. We are fairly far out on the decline curve, so the decline is not or the natural decline is not as rapid as you would see in the new field. But yes, I think that's a fair estimate, yes.
The next question is from the line of Tom Erik from Pareto Securities.
First one on Maromba. There was some talk earlier about the regulatory process as well. Of course, hopefully, a formality, but a lot of things that have to be checked off. Can you provide an update on that? And is it too early to say anything new? Or if there has been achieved some milestones there already or when that can happen? And then next on Dussafu, obviously, kind of the cash flow machine that will fund Maromba and other initiatives. Can you give us some kind of indication of what we should think about production next year and also CapEx given kind of where you stand now with the success you had earlier this year and how you see that in developing into the production figures of 2026?
Okay. Regulatory process, Maromba, yes. It's an ongoing process. We have not passed any significant milestone as such. We are -- of course, keeping A&P and IBAMA, which are the 2 main regulatory bodies that we need to relate to abreast of the development of the project in terms of design and timing. And yes -- but there's no -- there's been no milestones as such. It's ongoing working relationship where we keep them informed of our project. AMP's responsibility is, of course, to see these fields like Maromba, which are considered marginal fields developed profitably to the advantage of the Brazilian nation, that's how they view it. So I would say it's a productive relationship within the rules that apply to this activity. So I can't really give a much more meaningful answer than that or more granularity, if you like. It's an ongoing process, and we see it as a good process. On the Dussafu production, we announced that we are planning to start the Phase 2 drilling campaign on MaBoMo around midyear next year. And all those activities are going well. We are planning to add 4 wells. So that will, of course, give us a boost to production. We see a natural decline. We are in general, very pleased with the wells' performance. We have -- but as always, you have certain wells that are performing extremely well. And a surprise on the upside, and we have certain wells that give us a little bit of a surprise on the downside. So it's a mixed -- always a mixed bag. But all in all, we have been, I would say, in totality, it's been very good. We're currently at around 35,000. We expect to see decline, I would say, of about thousand barrels per month, and then we will add new wells, and they will be in the range of I would say, 5,000 to 7,000 barrels per day when they are, let's say, put in production and at peak and then they will again start to decline similarly to what we see today. I don't know, if that gives you enough granularity.
Perfect. Just one follow-up there. With the current state of the rig market and jackups in particular, is there tempting to just go ahead and drill a lot more production wells. So you basically know that you have a lot of capacity to stay at plateau for a long time? Or is the cost of capital too high given all the other organic growth initiatives you have ongoing now to basically spend money upfront on that?
Well, the -- we're working -- we're stepping through -- as you may recall, we have -- with the 4 extra wells, we have used the -- we have used the well slot capacity on MaBoMo. We will, of course, consider to -- if we have a well that isn't performing as well as we would like it to. We have, of course, the possibility of reusing a slot and sidetrack the well. And that's deliberations going on as we speak. So yes, we may do some more drilling in terms of side tracks, but it's -- that's a little bit too early to make any kind of firm predictions on that as it is work in progress. And we're constantly, of course, monitoring the performance of each well and the reservoirs and updating our reservoir models and understanding of Hibiscus, Hibiscus South and the Ruche reservoirs. So yes, we may do that if we find that it gives us incremental economics. We have, in general, very quick payback. So I wouldn't say it's a big liquidity. It's not really a big liquidity issue. It's more doing the right thing and doing the work and preparing and planning.
Perfect. One last one for me. You obviously staffed up the team in line with the company being becoming bigger as well. Is that process largely done now? Or do you expect to add more people going forward as well to be able to follow up on all these tracks at the same time?
Well, we are -- we are working on our, let's say, on the footprint always to make sure that we are as efficient as we can be. Yes, we are staffing up in certain offices, we're staffing down in other offices to achieve higher efficiency. So I would say we're not really increasing. If you look at corporate and day-to-day activity and do not consider, of course, the significant increase we have in manpower due to our high project load with Golfinho Boost and the Maromba project. So we are working constantly to be as efficient. And as you can see from our activities on Adolo, of course, we see an increase in manning. But it's indirect. It's manning that we have paid for anyway because it's been a contract with BW Offshore. Now we are totally taken over that activity. And the objective is, of course, to achieve synergies by being 1 company rather than 2, 1 administration and improved -- and improved and simplify the whole operation in Gabon. So yes, we are very focused on OpEx unit costs per barrel. We see that as the best way to ensure that we maintain our financial capabilities to develop the company like as we -- like we want and according to our ambitions.
As there are no further questions from the conference call at this moment, I will hand it back to Brice for any written questions. Please go ahead.
Well, thank you, operator. We have a couple of questions in the webcast. Questions from Mr. [indiscernible] about the progress in the -- completing the financing of the FPSO, the well platform and we already answered that, that it's progressing very well according to plan and we are as well progressing the corporate facility, and we will communicate in more details in the coming weeks. Questions from Mr. Dodson, why not U.S. listing would be very helpful? Well, thanks for your question. Today, we are listed in Norway, country with significant experience in investing in oil and gas industry with supportive regulatory regime for company and investors. We have a strong interest through the current listing. However, we are, from time to time, evaluating options for increasing the quality of our shareholder base. And we have done measures to increase accessibility for U.S., for example, with the OTCQX listing we did early in '25. Another question from an investor about MaBoMo Phase 2. Could you please give more details on MaBoMo Phase 2? So as I said, Carl, it will be 4 additional wells to maintain the plateau. It will be a phased development. So as such, we have a very high profitability per well and the wells will generate income before we are finished with the investment phase. And we target first oil in H2 2026. I think we have answered all the questions from the web. If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to send us a mail to the Investor Relations mailbox. And thank you very much for your participation. And then I leave it to you, Carl, to close.
Well, as always, we appreciate your interest and follow -- and the fact that you follow us. So again, thank you for participating in this call, and I wish you all the best for the remaining summer. Thank you.
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