Wintershall Dea Reporting on the 2023 business year

Wintershall Dea has today published its full year 2023 results, reporting EBITDAX of €4.2 billion and adjusted net income of €513 million. Chief Executive Officer Mario Mehren said “in a difficult year for Wintershall Dea our team delivered stable operational performance, and robust financial results despite macroeconomic headwinds.” The company produced 323,000 barrels of oil equivalent (boe) per day in 2023.   

2023 started with the company’s decision to exit Russia and ended with an announcement that brings major change for the whole company. In December 2023, Wintershall Dea’s shareholders BASF and LetterOne signed a business combination agreement with Harbour Energy.   

The agreement is for the transfer to Harbour Energy of Wintershall Dea’s E&P business, consisting of its production and development assets and exploration rights in Norway, Argentina, Germany, Mexico, Algeria, Libya (excluding Wintershall AG), Egypt and Denmark (excluding Ravn), as well as Wintershall Dea’s carbon storage licenses.  

The Wintershall Dea headquarters, and the headquarters team, are not a part of the transaction. This will require further restructuring and ultimately the closure of the headquarters’ units in Kassel and Hamburg, that currently have around 850 employees. Harbour Energy intends to take on some employees from the current headquarters into the combined company. Further specifics will be agreed in the currently ongoing review.  

Mehren said “until closing, Wintershall Dea continues to work as an independent company, producing energy and advancing carbon management and hydrogen projects. Safely and efficiently.” 

Despite a difficult year, Mehren said that “Wintershall Dea achieved significant milestones for our E&P business and carbon management and hydrogen activities.”  

In Norway, the company recommenced full production at the Dvalin field at the end of 2023 providing significant new gas volumes for Europe. It also secured approval for the further development of the Dvalin North and Maria Phase 2 fields, and 13 new exploration licences in the latest license round.  

In Mexico, Wintershall Dea closed its acquisition of a 37% interest in the producing Hokchi field, and made a major oil discovery at the Kan exploration prospect with preliminary volume estimates of 200 to 300 million boe. Together with its partners, the company received approval for the development concept for the Zama field, one of the largest shallow water oil discoveries of the past 20 years. 

In Argentina, the development of the Fénix project has continued apace. The production platform for the project has been successfully installed in February 2024. The project will produce up to 10 million cubic metres of natural gas per day for Argentina once operational, with first gas anticipated in Q4 2024.  

In the MENA region, Wintershall Dea produced first gas at its operated East Damanhour project in Egypt, and took the final investment decision for the Raven west development (West Nile Delta), with start of production expected in Q2 2025. In Algeria, the company closed its acquisition of an increased share at Reggane Nord. 

The company also made strong progress in its carbon, capture and storage (CCS) activities.  

Wintershall Dea and its partners achieved first CO₂ injection at the Greensand CCS project in Denmark in 2023. Mehren said “this was a moment of real significance for CCS in Europe. Taking international CCS from pilot to scale is essential to decarbonize European industry and achieve net zero targets.”  

The company ended the year with a portfolio of five CO₂ storage licences in Norway, Denmark and the UK, with a combined annual storage capacity of 17.4 million tonnes of CO₂ (Wintershall Dea share). That’s equivalent to around 12 per cent of the total emissions from German industry.  

Mehren said “Wintershall Dea has built one of the strongest CCS portfolios in Europe in just a few years.” 

“I thank our team for what they have achieved in the course of the last year, under circumstances they themselves may not have chosen. The hard work and commitment of our teams is ensuring that our projects and business units are set up in the best possible way for the future”, said Mehren.