The biggest independent UK oil producer in the North Sea revealed a sharp slump in profits during the first half of this year as it was buffeted by the sliding international price of crude.
EnQuest, an Aberdeen-based group that specialises in tapping oil from ageing fields, revealed that pre-tax profits plunged by more than a third to $226 million from $284 million a year ago. Revenues slipped from $503 million to $444 million over the same time.
Amjad Bseisu, the chief executive of EnQuest, blamed the drop in profit on lower oil prices and a reduction in the value of the group’s assets. He said that the company had been partly shielded from the price falls by a 17 per cent rise in production as