March 5 (Reuters) - Britain's Harbour Energy raised its 2026 output outlook on Thursday, citing a strong start to the year, helped by early contributions from its newly acquired LLOG assets. The
UK's Harbour Energy raises 2026 output view on new Gulf of Mexico assets
Harbour Energy's 2026 Production Outlook and Financial Performance
By Stephanie Kelly and Ankita Bora
Strong Start to 2024 and Asset Contributions
LONDON, March 5 (Reuters) - Britain's Harbour Energy raised its 2026 output outlook on Thursday, citing a strong start to the year helped by early contributions from its newly acquired LLOG assets in the Gulf of Mexico.
Harbour has been leaning on Wintershall Dea assets in Norway, Argentina and Mexico while cutting investment and jobs in the UK over what it calls an "uncompetitive tax regime".
Declining UK Production
The company's production in the UK has declined to less than a third from over 80% around three years ago, Harbour CEO Linda Cook said in a call with reporters on Thursday.
Revised Output Forecast
Harbour expects 2026 production of 475,000-500,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, compared with a prior estimate of 435,000-455,000 boepd.
The earlier outlook had excluded the impact of its acquisitions of Waldorf in the UK and LLOG in the U.S., as well as the announced sale of its Indonesian assets.
Pretax Profit and Market Reaction
Pretax Profit More Than Doubles
PRETAX PROFIT MORE THAN DOUBLES
Harbour posted $2.8 billion in profits before taxation in 2025, up from $1.2 billion a year prior.
Shares in the company rose about 4% in early-morning trade on Thursday. A broader index of European energy companies rose around 0.1%.
Government Policy and Taxation
British finance minister Rachel Reeves on Wednesday told oil and gas executives that she was still committed to removing a windfall tax on energy firms' profits, although the conflict in the Middle East has made the timing of its end less certain.
"Certainly, we have a lot of overlapping interests with the chancellor," Harbour CEO Linda Cook told reporters in a call on Thursday. "That includes a desire to see increased investment, jobs and growth."
After-Tax Losses and Shareholder Policy
Widening After-Tax Losses
Harbour posted a deeper after-tax loss of $182 million for the year ended December 31, 2025, widening from a year-ago loss of $93 million, as its tax bill more than doubled to $2.98 billion from $1.31 billion a year earlier.
Updated Distributions Policy
Focus on Free Cash Flow and Debt Reduction
Harbour has adopted an updated distributions policy which links shareholder returns directly to free cash flow, allowing it to prioritise debt reduction when leverage is above its target, the company said on Thursday.
(Reporting by Stephanie Kelly in London and Ankita Bora in Bengaluru; Editing by Sumana Nandy, Rashmi Aich and Jan Harvey)
