BW Energy Appoints New CFO

BW Energy Limited has appointed Brice Morlot as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) effective June 30.

Morlot succeeds Knut Sæthre, who has been CFO of BW Energy since 2019, contributing significantly to the company's financial stewardship and strategic direction, the company said in a news release.

Morlot brings extensive experience to the company, combining a solid financial understanding with an operational background in the exploration and production (E&P) business. Most recently, he served as Managing Director of Assala Energy in Gabon, and before that, in other leadership roles in Assala, SCOR, and Perenco.

He will be based in BW Energy’s office in Lisbon, Portugal.

“We look forward to Brice joining the BW Energy team as we deliver on our strategy for growth and value creation with producing fields and highly attractive development assets in Gabon, Brazil and Namibia,” BW CEO Energy Carl Arnet said.

Arnet added, "I have had the privilege of collaborating with Knut for close to 20 years across several businesses from APL, via BW Offshore and now most recently at BW Energy. His period as CFO has been marked by exemplary financial acumen and leadership. His contributions have been pivotal in positioning BW Energy for sustained success”.

“I have full confidence in Mr. Morlot's ability to excel in his new role, given his extensive business knowledge,” Sæthre remarked.

First Quarter Results

Meanwhile, BW Energy in its most recent earnings release reported EBITDA of $109.7 million for the first quarter, down from $133.4 million in the previous quarter, mainly due to lower oil sales in the quarter.

Net production from the operated assets was approximately 27,300 barrels of oil per day in the quarter, slightly up from the previous quarter. This includes production from the Tortue, Hibiscus and Hibiscus South fields in the Dussafu licence and the Golfinho.

"BW Energy continues to progress the Hibiscus / Ruche drilling program, optimizing available rig time to increase production and reserves through low-cost, low-risk development activity and efficient ESP replacements once equipment becomes available,” Arnet said. “In Brazil, the Golfinho field is producing in line with expectations as we prepare for the planned infill drilling campaign, and in Namibia, the potential of the Orange Basin and our Kudu asset is reaffirmed by another major new oil discovery”.

BW Energy operates the Dussafu Marin licence in Gabon and the Golfinho cluster offshore Brazil.

The ongoing Hibiscus/Ruche drilling campaign has the potential to bring total oil production on the Dussafu license up to the floating production, storage, and offloading unit (FPSO) capacity of approximately 40,000 barrels per day gross when all wells are on-stream, the company said.

Total production net to BW Energy from Gabon and Brazil for 2024 is projected to be between 10 million and 12 million barrels, based on the current Hibiscus/Ruche development plan and ESP work-over schedule. The company’s net capital expenditures are expected in the range of $280 million to $330 million. The increase is directly related to the successful exploration activities and added reserves in Dussafu, it said.

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