Jadestone Energy announces tTrading update for the half-year ended 30 June 2026

AIM-listed Jadestone Energy has announces a trading update for the half-year ended 30 June 2026. The financial information in this update is unaudited and may be subject to further review and change. The Group's unaudited results for the half-year ended 30 June 2026 will be issued on 27 August 2026.

T. Mitch Little, Chief Executive Officer of Jadestone, commented:

'During the first half of the year we have achieved substantial progress on our two most important 2026 deliverables, advancing our next leg of growth in Vietnam and strengthening our balance sheet.

We continue to see great cooperation from the Vietnamese government and have sustained positive momentum on the Nam Du/U Minh development, with FDP approval, GSPA signature, an ongoing  farm-out process, and substantial progress towards contract awards for the key field infrastructure. We remain on track to conclude the farm-out process and formally sanction the initial phase of the project before year-end. As we complete each additional milestone within our Vietnam value realization strategy, we are increasingly encouraged by the potential scale of resource and value that this asset can deliver.

In April, we successfully completed our debt refinancing through our inaugural bond issue, which was materially oversubscribed with substantial demand from credit investors seeking exposure to the strong upstream growth story of the Asia-Pacific region. The refinancing is key to our growth ambitions, allowing Jadestone's near-term cash generation to be prioritized on growth, particularly in Vietnam, rather than debt repayments.

On the operating front, I'm especially pleased with the results of our Malaysia drilling programme.  All three wells are currently online and were delivered at an overall cost of over 20% below expectations. The East Belumut field is currently producing at a gross rate of ~12 kbopd, or over 3x the rate prior to commencement of the drilling. These results highlight one of Jadestone's core strengths - a differentiated capability to find and successfully deliver the upside in existing fields which has been unrecognized by previous operators.

While we have successfully executed on the business drivers within our control, external factors have impacted first half Group production. The combined impacts of Cyclone Narelle's damage to the CALM buoy at Stag and the delayed restart of production at CWLH have led us to revise our 2026 production guidance. However, the impact on guidance is partly mitigated by the strong performance elsewhere in our diversified portfolio. In addition, the ongoing costs of remediation efforts at Stag are underpinned by our insurance coverage. We are now moving forward with clearly defined plans which are being executed to safely restore Group output to its current potential of over 20,000 boepd, while also advancing organic and inorganic growth opportunities in parallel."

H1 2026 Operations Update

• Continued excellent safety and environmental performance, with Group[1] operations achieving an aggregate 13.6 million manhours lost-time injury free.
• H1 2026 average production of 15,281 boepd (H1 2025: 20,368 boepd).
  • H1 2026 production was primarily impacted by the previously announced shut-in at the Stag field due to the impact of Cyclone Narelle, and planned maintenance activities associated with the CWLH FPSO drydock and subsequent delays in reconnecting the FPSO and restarting production.
• H1 2026 operating costs[2] of US$142.2 million (H1 2025: US$112.8 million).
  • Operating costs increased year-on-year mainly due to one-off costs associated with the CWLH FPSO dry-docking for five yearly maintenance, FX impacts, particularly the strengthening of the Australian dollar against the US dollar, and increased logistics costs arising from higher fuel costs. First-half operating costs includes ~US$6 million related to the Stag cyclone damage, which the Group expects will be recoverable through insurance.

H1 2026 Portfolio Update

• Vietnam
  • The Group made significant progress in the period on its key organic growth project, the Nam Du/U Minh gas development offshore Vietnam.
  • The Vietnamese Government approved the field development plan in March 2026, paving the way for booking of ~32 MMboe of gross 2P reserves for the project's initial phase.
  • The sales and purchase agreement for the gas supply from the fields was signed in April 2026.
  • A farm-out process commenced in May 2026 and has attracted strong interest from reputable industry players, with bids due by the end of July.
  • A preferred bidder for the FPSO contract has been selected and recommended to the Vietnam upstream regulator, Petrovietnam, for approval.
  • Jadestone remains on track to conclude the farm-out process and formally sanction the initial phase of the project before year-end.

• Malaysia
  • The Group's main development activity during 2026 is the infill drilling campaign at the East Belumut field within the PM323 PSC (Jadestone 60% interest) offshore Malaysia.
  • As previously reported, the first two wells in the campaign were very successful and increased production from the field by over 150% (an increase of ~6,000 bopd).
  • The success of the first two wells supported the decision to drill the contingent third well in the campaign. The third well, EBA-19ST2, was drilled with an 800 metre horizontal reservoir section in the well at a total measured depth of 5,125 metres. The well was successfully brought onstream at ~2,500 bopd.
  • The overall East Belumut infill campaign was delivered safely, over 20% below budget and set a record for extended reach drilling across all basins in Malaysia.
• Akatara
  • Despite a short period of downtime in the first half of the year associated with the Akatara gas processing facility's inlet compressors, 2026 production is expected at a similar level to 2025.
  • Akatara's reservoir performance continues to support expectations that current production levels can be sustained beyond the end of the current decade.
• Stag
  •  The Stag field was shut-in on 23 March 2026 in advance of the projected path of Cyclone Narelle, which generated estimated wave heights of 18 meters at the field.
  • As previously announced, the field's CALM buoy, through which tanker mooring and offloading operations take place, sustained damage from the storm.
  • Following efforts to refloat the existing CALM buoy, the Group now believes that a replacement CALM buoy offers the most efficient, timely and cost-effective way of restoring production at Stag. A replacement CALM buoy has been identified and is undergoing final due diligence engineering work.
  • Deployment to the field is expected during Q1 2027, when minor modifications to the existing mooring system will be executed prior to hook up and restart of production, which is now expected during Q2 2027. The Group's business interruption insurance cover for the current Stag shut-in runs to May 2027.
  • The Group continues to engage constructively with its insurers through the standard claims process, and expects to receive an initial payment of ~US$12 million in Q3 2026. The Group continues to expect that the Stag shut-in will not have a material financial impact on current year or longer-term cashflow projections.
• CWLH
  • As disclosed at the Group's full-year 2025 results, the Okha FPSO arrived back on station at the CWLH fields in May following its successful dry-dock. However, routine inspections prior to the vessel's return identified an issue with the subsea riser's J tube.
  • The repair requirements have since been confirmed by the field's operator, Woodside. It has subsequently developed detailed repair plans to support a safe return to operations.
  • Subject to regulatory approval and execution of planned remedial works, resumption of production is targeted for around the end of Q3 2026.
• Montara
  • The main activity at Montara in the first half of 2026 was the planned upgrade of the FPSO's re-injection compressor ("RIC"). The RIC upgrade was successfully executed in May and is expected to reduce annual Montara greenhouse gas emissions by 110,000 tonnes per annum, or 45% of 2026 forecast GHG emissions, while adding ~300 bopd to Montara's production potential.

H1 2026 Financial Update[3] 

• H1 2026 revenues (post-hedging) of US$234.0 million (H1 2025: US$228.3 million), an increase of 3% year-on-year, as higher realized oil prices were offset by a small decrease in liftings and hedging.
• The average realized price for oil liftings in H1 2026 was US$90.43/bbl, a 17% increase on H1 2025 (US$77.45/bbl).
  • The year-on-year uplift reflects increases in the underlying Brent benchmark and premiums during the first half, following the conflict in the Middle East. The average Brent price and premium in H1 2026 were US$85.21/bbl and US$5.22/bbl, respectively.
  • Most notably, an April Stag cargo was priced at a US$27.50/bbl premium to Dated Brent, a May Montara cargo at a US$11.40/bbl premium to Dated Brent, while May and June Malaysia liftings were priced at premiums of US$12.82/bbl and US$10.89/bbl, respectively.
• The average realization for condensate and LPG sales from Akatara during the period was US$57.74/boe (H1 2025: US$49.82/boe), reflecting pricing benchmarks less transportation costs.
• The average gas price realization during the period was US$5.96/mcf (H1 2025: US$5.59/mcf).
• H1 2026 capital expenditure of US$35.3 million (H1 2025: US$69.4 million), the majority of which relates to the East Belumut drilling campaign offshore Malaysia.
• Net debt[4] at 30 June 2026 was US$25.7 million (31 December 2025: US$89.1 million), comprising US$174.3 million of cash (including restricted cash) and US$200 million of debt. The net debt figure at 30 June 2026 excludes US$8.7 million from Malaysia June 2026 liftings received in July 2026.
• In March 2026, the Group successfully completed a US$200 million senior secured bond issue with maturity in 2031 and a coupon of 12%. The proceeds of the bond were partly used to repay the Group's reserves-based lending facility.
• As of 30 June 2026, the Group had hedges covering ~1.0 million barrels of oil production over the six months ending 31 December 2026, at an average Brent price of US$72.21/bbl (excluding premiums). Post period end, a further 300,000 barrels were hedged for the first quarter of 2027 at US$80.60/bbl.

Guidance Update

• Following H1 2026 asset performance and factoring in the excellent results of the Malaysia drilling program and updated expectations for the restart of production at Stag and CWLH, 2026 production guidance is revised to 16,000-18,000 boepd (from 18,000-21,000 boepd).
  • The 2,500 boepd guidance revision at the midpoint is significantly less than the 3,250 boepd of annualized aggregate deferred production from Stag and CWLH, highlighting the strong performance from the rest of Jadestone's portfolio.
• The 2026 operating cost guidance range[5] of US$260-300 million is unchanged.
  • Movements in FX rates, primarily the Australian dollar vs. the US dollar, and the impact of higher oil prices on royalties and diesel costs is now likely to mean an outcome in the upper half of the range.
• The 2026 capital expenditure guidance range[6] of US$50-80 million is unchanged.
  • The third well in the 2026 Malaysia campaign was not included in the initial 2026 capital expenditure guidance. However, the decision to drill the third well following the success of the first two wells in the campaign will not require an adjustment to the guidance range, as the aggregate cost of the three wells was over 20% below budget.
  • Consistent with previous disclosures, the guidance range reflects expenditure on the Group's existing producing assets, with only a small amount budgeted for pre-sanction costs in Vietnam.
• The Group's 2025-2027 free cash flow (pre debt servicing) guidance[7] of US$200-240 million is unchanged.
  • The 2025-2027 free cash flow range will be formally reviewed in early 2027 as part of the Group's annual planning cycle and reserves update. 

H1 2026 summary[8]

Original announcement link

Source: Jadestone Energy