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EnQuest

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FY2014 Annual Report · EnQuest
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CONTENTS

STRATEGIC REPORT
IFC  Driving results
01   Highlights
02  Review of our achievements 
04  Our strategy
05  Our business model
06  Growing EnQuest’s asset base
09  Key performance indicators
10  Operations – Greater Kittiwake Area
12  Developments – Kraken
14  Acquisitions – PM8/Seligi
16  Chairman’s statement
18  Chief Executive’s Report
22  Risks and uncertainties
26  Operating review
33  Oil and gas reserves and resources
38  Financial review
44  Corporate responsibility review

GOVERNANCE
46  Board of Directors
48  Senior management
50  Chairman’s letter
52  Corporate governance statement
55  Audit Committee Report
59  Directors’ Remuneration Report
73  Nomination Committee Report
75  Directors’ Report

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
78 

79 

 Statement of Directors’ responsibilities in 
relation to the Group Financial Statements
 Independent Auditor’s Report on the Annual 
Report and Accounts to the members of 
EnQuest PLC

83  Group statement of comprehensive income
84  Group balance sheet
85  Group statement of changes in equity
86  Group statement of cash flows
87  Notes to the Group financial statements
119   Statement of Directors’ responsibilities for the 

Parent Company financial statements

120  Company balance sheet
121  Notes to the financial statements
125  Company information

DRIVING 
RESULTS

ENQUEST PLC
ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014

STRATEGIC REPORT
DRIVING RESULTS:
ENQUEST IS AN OIL AND GAS DEVELOPMENT AND 
PRODUCTION COMPANY FOCUSED ON TURNING 
OPPORTUNITIES INTO VALUE BY TARGETING 
MATURING ASSETS AND UNDEVELOPED OIL FIELDS. 

TECHNICAL SKILLS

OPERATING SCALE

FINANCIAL STABILITY

EnQuest is a leading force in integrated 
development; as currently demonstrated 
by the c.140 MMboe Kraken development 
project which is proceeding on time and 
on budget. In 2014, EnQuest acquired the 
Greater Kittiwake Area (‘GKA’) hub, with 
its potential synergies with the adjacent 
Avalon and Scolty/Crathes discoveries. 
These development opportunities and 
the subsequent material improvements 
EnQuest has brought to GKA’s operational 
efficiency, again highlight EnQuest’s skills 
in managing maturing fields and 
exploiting nearby discoveries. 

At the end of 2014, including its new team in 
Malaysia, EnQuest had a direct workforce of 
approximately 900, or 2,000 with offshore 
contractors. EnQuest has a breadth and 
depth of in-house expertise which is 
matched by few, if any, UK based oil 
companies of its size. 

EnQuest’s funding facilities include a 
$1.2 billion committed credit facility, 
with a $500 million accordion. EnQuest 
renegotiated covenants with its lending 
banks and these have been relaxed until 
mid-2017. With this credit facility, a long 
dated debt maturity profile for the 
Company’s bonds and a hedging 
programme in place for 2015 and 2016, 
the Company is positioned to meet its 
investment programme as set out in the 
Financial Review on page 38.

CONTENTS

STRATEGIC REPORT
IFC  Driving results
01   Highlights
02  Review of our achievements 
04  Our strategy
05  Our business model
06  Growing EnQuest’s asset base
09  Key performance indicators
10  Operations – Greater Kittiwake Area
12  Developments – Kraken
14  Acquisitions – PM8/Seligi
16  Chairman’s statement
18  Chief Executive’s Report
22  Risks and uncertainties
26  Operating review
33  Oil and gas reserves and resources
38  Financial review
44  Corporate responsibility review

GOVERNANCE
46  Board of Directors
48  Senior management
50  Chairman’s letter
52  Corporate governance statement
55  Audit Committee Report
59  Directors’ Remuneration Report
73  Nomination Committee Report
75  Directors’ Report

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
78 

79 

 Statement of Directors’ responsibilities in 
relation to the Group Financial Statements
 Independent Auditor’s Report on the Annual 
Report and Accounts to the members of 
EnQuest PLC

83  Group statement of comprehensive income
84  Group balance sheet
85  Group statement of changes in equity
86  Group statement of cash flows
87  Notes to the Group financial statements
119   Statement of Directors’ responsibilities for the 

Parent Company financial statements

120  Company balance sheet
121  Notes to the financial statements
125  Company information

HIGHLIGHTS OF 2014
WITH LATEST 2015 
PERFORMANCE AND 
OUTLOOK 

Largest UK independent producer in the UK North Sea 
Total production in mass units (’000 Tonnes) for year ending November 2014

Source:
Department of Energy 
and Climate Change statistics 

,

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 ` Production averaged 27,895 Boepd, up 15.2%, over 2013. 
This was due to very good operational performance, with 
an excellent HSE performance, excellent production 
efficiency and with a 3,459 Boepd contribution from 
EnQuest’s first international production. 

 ` Net 2P reserves of 220.0 MMboe as at end 2014, up 

25.2 MMboe on prior year, reserves replacement ratio of 
c.350%. Net contingent resources of 170.6 MMboe at end 
of 2014, up 49.2 MMboe.

 ` Revenue of $1,010 million, EBITDA1 of $581 million, 
reflecting the strong operational performance. 

 ` The Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (‘FPSO’) 
vessel for the Alma/Galia development has now left the 
yard and the project is on track for first oil in mid-2015. 
 ` Kraken continues to be on budget and is on schedule for 
first oil in 2017. The drilling of an appraisal well in Kraken 
West has confirmed the presence of oil, with potential for 
upside. Further evaluation is ongoing. 

 ` Cost reduction action across the board; confirming 2015 
cash capex target of c.$600 million, also a unit opex 
reduction target of c.10% over 2014, to an average of 
c.$38/bbl in 2015. 

 ` Net debt at the year end, was $932.8 million.
 ` Production guidance for the full year 2015 for an average of 
between 33,000 Boepd and 36,000 Boepd, representing a 
24% annual increase at the mid-point of the range.

Reserves (MMboe)

+13.0% 

Production (Boepd)

+15.2% 

Cash flow from operations ($ million)

+13.2% 

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2014

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2014

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ENQUEST VALUES
AGILITY

Today’s ever-changing energy environment requires that we 
are flexible, adaptable and responsive. Our success rests on the 
ability to take courageous decisions and tackle challenges with 
great speed and flexibility. Amongst other things, I enjoy the 
ability to discuss new ideas and strategies to pursue value 
creation opportunities for the Company.
SALMAN MALIK, STRATEGY AND EVALUATIONS MANAGER

1  EBITDA is calculated on a business performance basis, and is calculated by 

taking profit/loss from operations before tax and finance income/(costs) and 
adding back depletion, depreciation and foreign exchange movements.

01

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014 
 
 
 
 
 
 
REVIEW OF OUR 
ACHIEVEMENTS

ENQUEST’S FIRST FIVE YEARS AND BEYOND

Total production (Boepd)

Delivered C.A.G.R. of 15% 
in first five years, set to 
increase to a C.A.G.R. of 
c.17% based on guidance 
for 2015 

Well ahead of long term target 
of an average of 10% growth p.a. 
Average net production

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*Compound Annual Growth Rate

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

Five years of strong reserves growth

 514% reserve replacement ratio
 Reserve life over 20 years 

Reserves 2010–2014 (MMboe)

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Extending the lives 
of maturing assets and 
optimising production.

IN 2014, ENQUEST WON THE OIL & GAS  
UK AWARD FOR BUSINESS INNOVATION.

EnQuest won the Business Innovation title in the Large Enterprise 
category at Oil & Gas UK’s 2014 awards. EnQuest’s Thistle life 
extension project is at the heart of a strategy to recover 35 million 
barrels of oil from the Thistle and Deveron fields, to extend the life 
of the Thistle field to 2025 and beyond.

This award recognises the Thistle project as a proven template for 
mature field development in the North Sea. The first phase of the 
Thistle life extension programme started in 2010 with a successful 
rig reactivation project which saw EnQuest bring Thistle drilling 
back online to drill its first new wells in 20 years.

Neil McCulloch, EnQuest’s President, North Sea, said: “Oil & Gas 
UK’s award is a welcome acknowledgement of how our strategy of 
extending the life of ageing assets and optimising production is 
succeeding. These achievements, which have been made with an 
exemplary safety record, are credit to everyone in the management, 
operational and support teams because a huge amount of 
commitment, focus, collaboration and drive goes into delivering 
such exceptional safe results.

It is also an important endorsement of how the right level of 
investment, combined with the right vision, technical expertise and 
innovative thinking can breathe new life into an ageing asset and 
give it a sustainable future”.

02

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ACHIEVEMENTS  
IN 2014

 ` Completed the acquisition 
of 50% of the Greater 
Kittiwake Area hub (’GKA’), 
in close proximity to 
EnQuest’s Scolty/Crathes 
discoveries 

 ` Secured an ‘out of round’ 
licence award (‘Don NE’) in 
the Don North East area

 ` The workover of the 

Heather production well 
H56 was the first workover 
on Heather for nearly a 
decade, it led to an 80% 
production uplift

 ` Won two licences in the 
Norwegian 2013 Awards 
in Pre-defined Areas 
licensing round

 ` Heather team achieved 

one year free of Lost Time 
Incidents (‘LTI’)
 ` Successfully issued 

$650 million of 7.00% 
senior unsecured notes, 
due 2022

 ` EnQuest secured a small 
field development project 
with PETRONAS, for the 
Tanjong Baram field 
offshore Sarawak, Malaysia 

 ` The host vessel for the 

Kraken Floating Production, 
Storage and Offloading 
vessel (‘FPSO’) arrived in 
Singapore on schedule and 
work started on the 
conversion scope

 ` Thistle achieved one year 

free of LTIs

 ` Submitted the Field 

Development Plan (‘FDP’) 
for the Ythan development 
in Don NE

 ` The Avalon well confirmed 

a discovery, in close 
proximity to the recently 
acquired GKA hub
 ` Northern Producer 

achieved two years free 
of LTIs 

 ` Acquired an interest in the 
PM8/Seligi Production 
Sharing Contract, including 
the Seligi oil field, once the 
largest oil field off 
Peninsular Malaysia
 ` Heather achieved its 
highest production 
efficiency levels in over 
five years

Q1

Q3

Q2

Q4

 ` Completed the installation 
of two subsea integrated 
template structures on the 
Kraken site

 ` Completed a workover of 
Mallard on GKA, Mallard 
was brought back online in 
September

 ` Heather reached over 100 
consecutive days without 
any production 
interruptions

 ` New Heather water 

injection well H64 was 
brought online 

 ` Executed the Kraken 
drilling rig contract
 ` Heather drilling team 

announced eight years of 
operation without an LTI

 ` Established a supplier 
forum, increasing 
collaboration on cost 
rationalisation, efficiency 
and waste minimisation 
objectives 

 ` By October, the successful 

GKA operational 
improvements had increased 
production from 2,500 
Boepd to a gross 5,500 
Boepd, with significantly 
reduced opex per barrel 
 ` Five Alma production wells 

had been fully completed by 
November, ready for tie-in 
 ` Secured the approval of the 
Ythan Field Development 
Plan and commenced drilling

 ` Secured an offer of 14 blocks/
part blocks as part of the 
28th UK licensing round
 ` Took over operatorship of 
PM8/Seligi in Malaysia 
 ` Undertook Front End 

Engineering Design (‘FEED’) 
studies on the proposed 
development of 
Scolty/Crathes

 ` Awarded Oil & Gas UK 
award for Business 
Innovation, for the Thistle 
life extension project

03

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014OUR STRATEGY
STRATEGIC 
FRAMEWORK

Market opportunity

EnQuest targets opportunities in maturing basins, to acquire 
development and production assets which are not large 
enough to be of interest to the major global oil companies. 
In-house, EnQuest has the full spectrum of integrated technical 
capabilities needed to successfully deliver new oil field 
developments and to optimise assets which are already in 
production; the capabilities include subsurface, facilities 
planning and drilling. In 2014, EnQuest again delivered 
production efficiency levels which we believe rank it as one of 
the best operators in the North Sea. EnQuest believes that 
these technical skills, combined with its operational scale and 
its financial stability leave EnQuest uniquely well positioned to 
deliver its sustainable growth strategy. 

EnQuest is a company of substantial operational size, with high 
levels of cash generated from operations. EnQuest has always 
been focused on controlling its cost base. In recent years 
EnQuest was able to keep its unit operating costs broadly flat, 
while average costs in the North Sea doubled. Since the oil 
price decline started in the middle of 2014, EnQuest made 
further significant cuts to its cost base and continues to work 
with the supply chain and contractors to achieve additional 
savings. EnQuest’s production efficiency and cost control skills 
are particularly valuable in the current macro environment, 
where sellers of oil field assets need buyers who have the 
technical and operational capabilities essential for the 
subsequent safe and effective management of the assets, 
and who can do so cost effectively. EnQuest is managing its 
business in a manner which will allow it to withstand a 
prolonged period of low oil prices.

DELIVERING SUSTAINABLE GROWTH

EnQuest intends to deliver sustainable 
growth by focusing on exploiting its 
existing reserves, commercialising 
and developing discoveries, converting 
contingent resources into reserves and 
pursuing selective acquisitions.

Exploiting our 
existing reserves

DONS, THISTLE/
DEVERON, HEATHER/
BROOM, ALBA

In EnQuest’s first five years, 
EnQuest increased its net 2P 
reserves by a net 30.7 MMboe, 
as a result of revisions to 
reserve estimates, reflecting 
the benefits of our infill drilling 
programme and our increased 
reservoir knowledge.
See pages 10, 18 et seq and 
26 et seq.

Commercialising 
and developing 
discoveries

YTHAN

Through the approval of the 
Ythan discovery for development, 
EnQuest further increased the 
level of its net 2P reserves in 2014.
See pages 18 et seq and pages 
26 and 28.

Making  
selective 
acquisitions

GREATER KITTIWAKE 
AREA, PM8/SELIGI 

In 2014, EnQuest increased its net 
2P reserves by 22.8 MMboe, 
through acquisitions.
See pages 10, 14 and 18 et seq 
and 34 et seq.

Converting 
contingent 
resources into 
reserves

SCOLTY/CRATHES, ALMA/
GALIA, KRAKEN

Through the promotion of Scolty/
Crathes to 2P reserves following 
development planning, and through 
promotion to reserves of additional 
amounts at both Alma/Galia and 
Kraken, EnQuest promoted 13.6 
MMboe to net 2P reserves from 
contingent resources in 2014. 
See page 12, pages 18 et seq 
and 26 et seq.

04

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014OUR BUSINESS MODEL
REALISING 
VALUE THROUGH 
CAPABILITY

EnQuest has the right mix 
of capabilities, which focus on 
development and production 
opportunities in maturing basins.

FOCUSED ON HUBS

Through its proven skills, EnQuest 
delivers industry leading levels of 
production efficiency and of cost control, 
creating opportunities for it to add value 
to the assets it manages. EnQuest has 
the full spectrum of integrated technical 
capabilities needed to deliver new oil 
field developments successfully; 
combining subsurface, facilities planning 
and drilling. 

FIELD LIFE EXTENSIONS

MARGINAL FIELD SOLUTIONS

NEW DEVELOPMENTS

 ` Upgrading existing facilities
 ` Newer technology, new seismic
 ` Simplifying processes
 ` Infill drilling, subsurface skill in 

identifying well targets

ASSETS 

 ` Heather/Broom
 ` Thistle/Deveron
 ` Greater Kittiwake Area
 ` PM8/Seligi

 ` Maturing fields
 ` Access through majors

 ` Agile, innovative and cost 

efficient solutions

 ` Redesigning and upgrading 

‘used’ facilities

 ` Using existing infrastructure; tie-backs

 ` Deploying technical and 

financial capacity

 ` Integrated teams commercialising and 

developing discoveries
 ` Low risk, low cost, near field 
development and appraisal

ASSETS 

 ` The Don fields 
 ` Alma/Galia
 ` Ythan
 ` Tanjong Baram

ASSETS 

 ` Kraken

 ` Dormant fields
 ` Access through majors and 

licensing rounds

 ` Access through  

smaller companies

05

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT TRANSACTIONS

50% 
Greater 
Kittiwake 
Area

60% 
Don North 
East, Ythan

70% 
Tanjong 
Baram

Acquired a 50% working 
interest in the Greater 
Kittiwake Area producing 
oil field.

In early 2014, EnQuest was 
awarded a licence in the Don 
North East Area, including 
the Area 23 and Area 24 
discovered oil accumulations. 
Area 24 was renamed 
‘Ythan’; a Field Development 
Plan was successfully 
submitted for Ythan later 
in 2014.

Secured a 70% interest in 
a small field development, 
Tanjong Baram, in Malaysia.

50% 
PM8/Seligi

Acquired a 50% operating 
interest in what is now the 
PM8/Seligi Production 
Sharing Contract in Malaysia.

EnQuest is bringing substantial stepped 
increases in production onstream in the 
next two years:

 ` Average production in 2014: 27,895 Boepd
 ` First oil from Alma/Galia in mid-2015, with net peak oil 

 ` First oil from Kraken in 2017, with net peak oil of 

of c.13,000 Boepd

c.30,000 Boepd

GROWING 
ENQUEST’S 
ASSET BASE

EnQuest’s principal UK assets at the 
end of 2014 were its interests in the 
producing operated oil fields Heather/
Broom, Thistle/Deveron, West Don, Don 
Southwest, Conrie, Kittiwake, Goosander, 
Gadwall, Grouse, and Mallard along with 
the producing non-operated Alba oil 
field, also in the Alma/Galia, Kraken 
and Ythan developments, with further 
development opportunities in the Scolty/
Crathes and Avalon discoveries. 

In early 2014, EnQuest was awarded a licence in the Don North East 
area, within which Area 24 was subsequently renamed Ythan. 

At the end of 2014, EnQuest had working interests in 34 UK 
production licences, covering 45 blocks or part blocks, and was the 
operator of 29 of these licences. Including the 28th round awards, 
awarded in Q1 2015, the totals increase to 38 licences and 54 blocks 
or part blocks, of which EnQuest operates 33 licences.

During 2014, EnQuest continued 
to expand its position in maturing 
hydrocarbon basins outside the 
UK North Sea. 

In Q2 2014, EnQuest secured a 70% interest in a small field 
development project with PETRONAS, for the Tanjong Baram field 
offshore Sarawak. Also in Q2 EnQuest completed the acquisition of 
a 50% interest in the Seligi oil field, once the largest producing oil 
field in peninsular Malaysia, and of an interest in the nearby PM8 
Production Sharing Contract (‘PSC’). In Q1 2015, EnQuest Norge AS 
was awarded two additional production licences in the Norwegian 
Sea, bringing the total to four.

06

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014Production and developments

Discoveries

Other licences

THE DONS/CONRIE
THISTLE/DEVERON

HEATHER/BROOM

PL760 & PL760b

PL758 & PL800

KRAKEN

ENQUEST LICENCES
IN THE NORWEGIAN SEA

NAMSOS

STAVANGER

NORWAY

ALBA

AVALON

SCOLTY/CRATHES

SCOTLAND

ABERDEEN

GREATER KITTIWAKE AREA

North Sea

ALMA/GALIA

PM8

SELIGI

MALAYSIA

CAMBODIA

VIETNAM

PM8
PM8

SELIGI
SELIGI

TANJONG
BARAM

SB-307/308

SABAH
(MALAYSIA)

SB-307/308
SB-307/308

BRUNEI

SK307

MALAYSIA

SINGAPORE

SARAWAK
(MALAYSIA)

INDONESIA

South East Asia

07

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014FOCUSED ON 
SKILLS & EXECUTION

EnQuest’s strong production performance in 2014 was underpinned 
by high operational uptimes and excellent levels of production 
efficiency. This was achieved whilst ensuring that safe results, no 
harm to people and respect for the environment remained top 
priorities. EnQuest has an in-house focused organisational structure 
and it is the operator on most of its assets. This gives EnQuest a 
high level of direct control and an alignment of interests that 
EnQuest leverages to optimise the efficiency of its operational 
performance; using its focused skill sets to successfully execute its 
business plans. 

ENQUEST’S PEOPLE

EnQuest is its people. EnQuest is differentiated by the breadth 
and depth of its teams, by their knowledge and experience in 
engineering, subsurface, execution and operations and by their 
leadership in innovative integrated developments.

FOCUSED ON INSOURCED SKILLS  
AND ON EXECUTION

 ` Leadership in innovative developments
 ` Integrated teams
 ` Proven depth in engineering, subsurface, execution 

and operations

 ` Innovative and cost efficient development solutions
 ` Proven acquirer of assets

SKILLS

S

C

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E

TURNING 
OPPORTUNITIES
INTO VALUE 

STRENGT H

ENQUEST THE 
OPERATOR

EnQuest’s North Sea Production Efficiency (‘PE’) has been 
outstanding. In 2013, we had a top quartile position in Oil & Gas 
UK’s rankings, and in 2014 we consolidated our performance 
with a PE averaging 88% on a like for like basis. 

Production efficency EnQuest in top UKCS quartile

Further improvement in core UK production efficiency

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

1st quartile

2nd quartile

3rd quartile

4th quartile

EnQuest

2013 operator rankings UK North sea production efficiency 
task force. Including latest EnQuest PE for 2014. 

Average production efficiency across the North Sea 
industry in 2013 was 64%. In 2014, EnQuest’s North Sea 
production was 88% on a like for like basis with 2013 
(excluding GKA). 

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64%

0%

2010

2011

2012

2013

Source:
O&G UK research 2013

08

Source:
O&G UK /DECC research, plus latest EnQuest data

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014 
 
 
KEY PERFORMANCE 
INDICATORS

 ` See Chief Executive’s Report, Financial Review and Notes 

to the Group financial statements for additional explanation 
and analysis.

Net 2P reserves (MMboe)

+13.0% 

EnQuest delivered a strong operational 
performance in 2014, with production 
up 15%, EBITDA of $581 million and 
a 25 MMboe increase in reserves. 
EnQuest’s two major development 
projects are both progressing well; the 
Alma/Galia FPSO the EnQuest Producer 
has now left the yard and the Alma/Galia 
development is on track for first oil in 
mid-2015, Kraken is on budget and on 
schedule for first oil in 2017.

ENQUEST VALUES
FOCUS

In pursuit of EnQuest’s goals, the aspect of focus that I value 
the most is the ability to reach decisions on a timely basis and 
to use the accountabilities entrusted to me to execute 
those decisions.
DAVID FLETCHER, SENIOR TAX ADVISER

2013

2014

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2014

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2014

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2014

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Revenue ($ million)

+5.1% 

Gross profit ($ million)

-18.2% 

EBITDA ($ million)

-6.5% 

Lost Time Incident Frequency (LTIF)

2013

1.36

2014

0.00

2P reserves (MMboe)

194.8

220.0

Business performance data:
Production (Boepd)
Revenue ($ million)
Realised blended average oil price 
per barrel ($)
Opex per barrel (production and 
transportation costs) ($)
Gross profit excluding exceptional 
items ($ million)
Cash capex on property, plant and 
equipment oil and gas assets ($ million)

Reported data:
Cash generated from operations 
($ million)
Net debt ($ million)
Profit before tax excluding exceptional 
items ($ million)
Basic earnings per share (cents)

EBITDA ($ million)

24,222
961.2

27,895
1,009.9

109.7

100.6

35.5

42.1

434.9

355.8

984.3

1,060.3

562.7
(381.1)

338.0
24.4

621.3

637.1
(932.8)

243.3
(22.8)

581.0

09

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014 
Job: 

Working_EnQuest_AR14_FrontSPREADS 

Proof Read by:

Operator: rich  

Set-up: 

paul 

Proof: 

Date: 

06 

31 March 2015 4:41 PM 

First Read/Revisions

Job: 

Working_EnQuest_AR14_FrontSPREADS 

Proof Read by:

Operator: rich  

Set-up: 

paul 

Proof: 

Date: 

06 

31 March 2015 4:41 PM 

First Read/Revisions

DRIVING RESULTS
OPERATIONS:
DRIVING
PERFORMANCE

DRIVING RESULTS
OPERATIONS:
DRIVING
PERFORMANCE

THE GREATER 
THE GREATER 
KITTIWAKE AREA
KITTIWAKE AREA

In Q1 2014, EnQuest completed its 
In Q1 2014, EnQuest completed its 
acquisition of the Greater Kittiwake 
acquisition of the Greater Kittiwake 
Area (‘GKA’) assets, fitting within 
Area (‘GKA’) assets, fitting within 
EnQuest’s goals of managing 
EnQuest’s goals of managing 
mature fields and of exploiting 
mature fields and of exploiting 
nearby discoveries and near field 
nearby discoveries and near field 
exploration opportunities. 
exploration opportunities. 

EnQuest’s Scolty and Crathes discoveries are within the area 
EnQuest’s Scolty and Crathes discoveries are within the area 
and stand to benefit from a potential tie-back to Kittiwake. 
and stand to benefit from a potential tie-back to Kittiwake. 
Within weeks of completing the acquisition, EnQuest added to 
Within weeks of completing the acquisition, EnQuest added to 
its potential through the successful nearby Avalon discovery. 
its potential through the successful nearby Avalon discovery. 

Having assumed operatorship, EnQuest took action to enhance 
Having assumed operatorship, EnQuest took action to enhance 
operational efficiency, delivering a marked rise in production, 
operational efficiency, delivering a marked rise in production, 
up from a gross 2,500 Boepd in early 2014, to over 5,500 
up from a gross 2,500 Boepd in early 2014, to over 5,500 
Boepd gross by October. These improved efficiencies, 
Boepd gross by October. These improved efficiencies, 
combined with the substantially increased production volumes, 
combined with the substantially increased production volumes, 
resulted in operating expenditure per barrel being significantly 
resulted in operating expenditure per barrel being significantly 
reduced, as planned. 
reduced, as planned. 

Central to the programme was the successful workover of 
Central to the programme was the successful workover of 
the Mallard well, which resulted in that field being returned to 
the Mallard well, which resulted in that field being returned to 
production in September. Gas export was also brought back on 
production in September. Gas export was also brought back on 
line and produced water processes were optimised; all key to 
line and produced water processes were optimised; all key to 
positively transforming GKA’s performance efficiency. 
positively transforming GKA’s performance efficiency. 

Strategically, the focus is now on the development of our 
longer term life-of-field plan, alongside short and medium term 
asset management programmes, all shaping a successful future 
for GKA.

Strategically, the focus is now on the development of our 
longer term life-of-field plan, alongside short and medium term 
asset management programmes, all shaping a successful future 
for GKA.

HIGHLIGHTS

HIGHLIGHTS

 ` GKA comprises a network of fields, and offers a series 

 ` GKA comprises a network of fields, and offers a series 

of hub development opportunities

of hub development opportunities

 ` The Goosander and Grouse wells performed well 

 ` The Goosander and Grouse wells performed well 

throughout 2014 

throughout 2014 

 ` In 2014, a successful workover brought Mallard back online 
 ` Preparatory work on the proposed tie-back to link the GKA 
facilities with the Scolty/Crathes discoveries progressed well 
during 2014

 ` In 2014, a successful workover brought Mallard back online 
 ` Preparatory work on the proposed tie-back to link the GKA 
facilities with the Scolty/Crathes discoveries progressed well 
during 2014

 ` Following the success of the Mallard workover, a Gadwall 

 ` Following the success of the Mallard workover, a Gadwall 

sidetrack is expected in mid-2015 

sidetrack is expected in mid-2015 

 ` With continuing efficiency improvements, opex per barrel 

 ` With continuing efficiency improvements, opex per barrel 

will be further reduced in 2015

will be further reduced in 2015

10
10

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014

P

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EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014 
 
 
 
 
 
Job: 

Working_EnQuest_AR14_FrontSPREADS 

Working_EnQuest_AR14_FrontSPREADS 

Job: 

Proof Read by:

Proof Read by:

Operator: rich  

Operator: rich  

Set-up: 

paul 

Set-up: 

paul 

Proof: 

Date: 

06 

Proof: 

06 

31 March 2015 4:41 PM 

31 March 2015 4:41 PM 

First Read/Revisions

Date: 

First Read/Revisions

Job: 

Working_EnQuest_AR14_FrontSPREADS 

Working_EnQuest_AR14_FrontSPREADS 

Job: 

Proof Read by:

Proof Read by:

Operator: rich  

Operator: rich  

Set-up: 

paul 

Set-up: 

paul 

Proof: 

Date: 

06 

Proof: 

06 

31 March 2015 4:41 PM 

31 March 2015 4:41 PM 

First Read/Revisions

Date: 

First Read/Revisions

STRATEGIC 
REPORT

GOVERNANCE

FINANCIALS

DRIVING RESULTS

DRIVING RESULTS

OPERATIONS:

OPERATIONS:

DRIVING

DRIVING

PERFORMANCE

PERFORMANCE

THE GREATER 

THE GREATER 

KITTIWAKE AREA

KITTIWAKE AREA

In Q1 2014, EnQuest completed its 

In Q1 2014, EnQuest completed its 

acquisition of the Greater Kittiwake 

acquisition of the Greater Kittiwake 

Area (‘GKA’) assets, fitting within 

Area (‘GKA’) assets, fitting within 

EnQuest’s goals of managing 

EnQuest’s goals of managing 

mature fields and of exploiting 

mature fields and of exploiting 

nearby discoveries and near field 

nearby discoveries and near field 

exploration opportunities. 

exploration opportunities. 

EnQuest’s Scolty and Crathes discoveries are within the area 

EnQuest’s Scolty and Crathes discoveries are within the area 

and stand to benefit from a potential tie-back to Kittiwake. 

and stand to benefit from a potential tie-back to Kittiwake. 

Within weeks of completing the acquisition, EnQuest added to 

Within weeks of completing the acquisition, EnQuest added to 

its potential through the successful nearby Avalon discovery. 

its potential through the successful nearby Avalon discovery. 

Having assumed operatorship, EnQuest took action to enhance 

Having assumed operatorship, EnQuest took action to enhance 

operational efficiency, delivering a marked rise in production, 

operational efficiency, delivering a marked rise in production, 

up from a gross 2,500 Boepd in early 2014, to over 5,500 

up from a gross 2,500 Boepd in early 2014, to over 5,500 

Boepd gross by October. These improved efficiencies, 

Boepd gross by October. These improved efficiencies, 

combined with the substantially increased production volumes, 

combined with the substantially increased production volumes, 

resulted in operating expenditure per barrel being significantly 

resulted in operating expenditure per barrel being significantly 

reduced, as planned. 

reduced, as planned. 

Central to the programme was the successful workover of 

Central to the programme was the successful workover of 

the Mallard well, which resulted in that field being returned to 

the Mallard well, which resulted in that field being returned to 

production in September. Gas export was also brought back on 

production in September. Gas export was also brought back on 

line and produced water processes were optimised; all key to 

line and produced water processes were optimised; all key to 

positively transforming GKA’s performance efficiency. 

positively transforming GKA’s performance efficiency. 

Strategically, the focus is now on the development of our 

Strategically, the focus is now on the development of our 

longer term life-of-field plan, alongside short and medium term 

longer term life-of-field plan, alongside short and medium term 

asset management programmes, all shaping a successful future 

asset management programmes, all shaping a successful future 

for GKA.

for GKA.

HIGHLIGHTS

HIGHLIGHTS

 ` GKA comprises a network of fields, and offers a series 

 ` GKA comprises a network of fields, and offers a series 

of hub development opportunities

of hub development opportunities

 ` The Goosander and Grouse wells performed well 

 ` The Goosander and Grouse wells performed well 

throughout 2014 

throughout 2014 

 ` In 2014, a successful workover brought Mallard back online 

 ` In 2014, a successful workover brought Mallard back online 

 ` Preparatory work on the proposed tie-back to link the GKA 

 ` Preparatory work on the proposed tie-back to link the GKA 

facilities with the Scolty/Crathes discoveries progressed well 

facilities with the Scolty/Crathes discoveries progressed well 

during 2014

during 2014

 ` Following the success of the Mallard workover, a Gadwall 

 ` Following the success of the Mallard workover, a Gadwall 

sidetrack is expected in mid-2015 

sidetrack is expected in mid-2015 

 ` With continuing efficiency improvements, opex per barrel 

 ` With continuing efficiency improvements, opex per barrel 

will be further reduced in 2015

will be further reduced in 2015

P

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EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014

11
11

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Job: 

Working_EnQuest_AR14_FrontSPREADS 

Proof Read by:

Operator: rich  

Set-up: 

paul 

Proof: 

Date: 

06 

31 March 2015 4:41 PM 

First Read/Revisions

Job: 

Working_EnQuest_AR14_FrontSPREADS 

Proof Read by:

Operator: rich  

Set-up: 

paul 

Proof: 

Date: 

06 

31 March 2015 4:41 PM 

First Read/Revisions

T

T

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W

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DRIVING RESULTS
DRIVING RESULTS
DEVELOPMENTS:
DEVELOPMENTS:
REALISING
REALISING
UNTAPPED
UNTAPPED
POTENTIAL
POTENTIAL

12
12

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014

KRAKEN

The Kraken development is a 25 year 

life project, with approximately 

140 MMboe of gross reserves. 

Material advances across key areas of the project defined 2014 

as a year of significant progress for EnQuest’s Kraken 

development in the northern North Sea. 

The major greenfield project has remained on schedule and on 

budget as work continues apace on the Floating Production, 

Storage and Offloading (‘FPSO’) vessel, subsea infrastructure 

and planning of the development wells. 

Modification and upgrade work on the FPSO vessel that will 

form the field hub is progressing at the Keppel shipyard in 

Singapore. The facility has an extensive track record in FPSO 

conversion work, having already completed more than 100 

such programmes.

Equally, the subsea infrastructure is taking shape, with key 

elements delivered and installed during the year and more 

scheduled for 2015. 

A semi-submersible rig is under contract to begin development 

well drilling operations at Kraken during the second half of 

2015; this is a ‘harsh environment’ rig and should therefore have 

good operational uptime. 

The Kraken development team, operating in both Aberdeen 

and Singapore, is focused on delivering what will become 

EnQuest’s sixth UK North Sea hub. 

HIGHLIGHTS

in 2017 

due in 2015

 ` The Kraken development is expected to produce net peak 

oil of c.30,000 Boepd and is anticipated to come on stream 

 ` Water injection and production templates for the first drill 

centre were installed on the seabed in 2014, with manifolds 

 ` The first three subsea ‘Xmas trees’1 were delivered in 2014 

 ` Templates and manifolds for the second drill centre are 

scheduled for 2015 installation

 ` The submerged turret loading buoy – a central feature of the 

subsea infrastructure and mooring mechanism for the FPSO 

– is due in 2015 

1.  The set of valves, spools and fittings connected to the top of a well 

to direct and control the flow of formation fluids from the well.

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Job: 

Working_EnQuest_AR14_FrontSPREADS 

Working_EnQuest_AR14_FrontSPREADS 

Job: 

Proof Read by:

Proof Read by:

Operator: rich  

Operator: rich  

Set-up: 

paul 

Set-up: 

paul 

Proof: 

Date: 

06 

Proof: 

06 

31 March 2015 4:41 PM 

31 March 2015 4:41 PM 

First Read/Revisions

Date: 

First Read/Revisions

Job: 

Working_EnQuest_AR14_FrontSPREADS 

Working_EnQuest_AR14_FrontSPREADS 

Job: 

Proof Read by:

Proof Read by:

Operator: rich  

Operator: rich  

Set-up: 

paul 

Set-up: 

paul 

Proof: 

Date: 

06 

Proof: 

06 

31 March 2015 4:41 PM 

31 March 2015 4:41 PM 

First Read/Revisions

Date: 

First Read/Revisions

STRATEGIC 
REPORT

GOVERNANCE

FINANCIALS

T

T

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H

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W

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KRAKEN

KRAKEN

KRAKEN

The Kraken development is a 25 year 
The Kraken development is a 25 year 
The Kraken development is a 25 year 
life project, with approximately 
life project, with approximately 
life project, with approximately 
140 MMboe of gross reserves. 
140 MMboe of gross reserves. 
140 MMboe of gross reserves. 

Material advances across key areas of the project defined 2014 
Material advances across key areas of the project defined 2014 
Material advances across key areas of the project defined 2014 
as a year of significant progress for EnQuest’s Kraken 
as a year of significant progress for EnQuest’s Kraken 
as a year of significant progress for EnQuest’s Kraken 
development in the northern North Sea. 
development in the northern North Sea. 
development in the northern North Sea. 

The major greenfield project has remained on schedule and on 
budget as work continues apace on the Floating Production, 
Storage and Offloading (‘FPSO’) vessel, subsea infrastructure 
and planning of the development wells. 

The major greenfield project has remained on schedule and on 
budget as work continues apace on the Floating Production, 
Storage and Offloading (‘FPSO’) vessel, subsea infrastructure 
and planning of the development wells. 

The major greenfield project has remained on schedule and on 
budget as work continues apace on the Floating Production, 
Storage and Offloading (‘FPSO’) vessel, subsea infrastructure 
and planning of the development wells. 

Modification and upgrade work on the FPSO vessel that will 
form the field hub is progressing at the Keppel shipyard in 
Singapore. The facility has an extensive track record in FPSO 
conversion work, having already completed more than 100 
such programmes.

Modification and upgrade work on the FPSO vessel that will 
form the field hub is progressing at the Keppel shipyard in 
Singapore. The facility has an extensive track record in FPSO 
conversion work, having already completed more than 100 
such programmes.

Modification and upgrade work on the FPSO vessel that will 
form the field hub is progressing at the Keppel shipyard in 
Singapore. The facility has an extensive track record in FPSO 
conversion work, having already completed more than 100 
such programmes.

Equally, the subsea infrastructure is taking shape, with key 
elements delivered and installed during the year and more 
scheduled for 2015. 

Equally, the subsea infrastructure is taking shape, with key 
elements delivered and installed during the year and more 
scheduled for 2015. 

Equally, the subsea infrastructure is taking shape, with key 
elements delivered and installed during the year and more 
scheduled for 2015. 

A semi-submersible rig is under contract to begin development 
A semi-submersible rig is under contract to begin development 
A semi-submersible rig is under contract to begin development 
well drilling operations at Kraken during the second half of 
well drilling operations at Kraken during the second half of 
well drilling operations at Kraken during the second half of 
2015; this is a ‘harsh environment’ rig and should therefore have 
2015; this is a ‘harsh environment’ rig and should therefore have 
2015; this is a ‘harsh environment’ rig and should therefore have 
good operational uptime. 
good operational uptime. 
good operational uptime. 

The Kraken development team, operating in both Aberdeen 
and Singapore, is focused on delivering what will become 
EnQuest’s sixth UK North Sea hub. 

The Kraken development team, operating in both Aberdeen 
and Singapore, is focused on delivering what will become 
EnQuest’s sixth UK North Sea hub. 

The Kraken development team, operating in both Aberdeen 
and Singapore, is focused on delivering what will become 
EnQuest’s sixth UK North Sea hub. 

HIGHLIGHTS

HIGHLIGHTS

HIGHLIGHTS

 ` The Kraken development is expected to produce net peak 
oil of c.30,000 Boepd and is anticipated to come on stream 
in 2017 

 ` The Kraken development is expected to produce net peak 
oil of c.30,000 Boepd and is anticipated to come on stream 
in 2017 

 ` The Kraken development is expected to produce net peak 
oil of c.30,000 Boepd and is anticipated to come on stream 
in 2017 

 ` Water injection and production templates for the first drill 

 ` Water injection and production templates for the first drill 

 ` Water injection and production templates for the first drill 

centre were installed on the seabed in 2014, with manifolds 
due in 2015

centre were installed on the seabed in 2014, with manifolds 
due in 2015

centre were installed on the seabed in 2014, with manifolds 
due in 2015

 ` The first three subsea ‘Xmas trees’1 were delivered in 2014 
 ` Templates and manifolds for the second drill centre are 

 ` The first three subsea ‘Xmas trees’1 were delivered in 2014 
 ` Templates and manifolds for the second drill centre are 

 ` The first three subsea ‘Xmas trees’1 were delivered in 2014 
 ` Templates and manifolds for the second drill centre are 

scheduled for 2015 installation

scheduled for 2015 installation

scheduled for 2015 installation

 ` The submerged turret loading buoy – a central feature of the 
subsea infrastructure and mooring mechanism for the FPSO 
– is due in 2015 

 ` The submerged turret loading buoy – a central feature of the 
subsea infrastructure and mooring mechanism for the FPSO 
– is due in 2015 

 ` The submerged turret loading buoy – a central feature of the 
subsea infrastructure and mooring mechanism for the FPSO 
– is due in 2015 

1.  The set of valves, spools and fittings connected to the top of a well 
1.  The set of valves, spools and fittings connected to the top of a well 
1.  The set of valves, spools and fittings connected to the top of a well 
to direct and control the flow of formation fluids from the well.
to direct and control the flow of formation fluids from the well.
to direct and control the flow of formation fluids from the well.

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014

13
13

DRIVING RESULTS

DRIVING RESULTS

DEVELOPMENTS:

DEVELOPMENTS:

REALISING

REALISING

UNTAPPED

UNTAPPED

POTENTIAL

POTENTIAL

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Job: 

Working_EnQuest_AR14_FrontSPREADS 

Proof Read by:

Operator: rich  

Set-up: 

paul 

Proof: 

Date: 

06 

31 March 2015 4:41 PM 

First Read/Revisions

Job: 

Working_EnQuest_AR14_FrontSPREADS 

Proof Read by:

Operator: rich  

Set-up: 

paul 

Proof: 

Date: 

06 

31 March 2015 4:41 PM 

First Read/Revisions

S

S

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8

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8

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/

/

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3

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DRIVING RESULTS
DRIVING RESULTS
ACQUISITIONS:
ACQUISITIONS:
IDENTIFYING
IDENTIFYING
FUTURE
FUTURE
OPPORTUNITIES
OPPORTUNITIES
FOR GROWTH
FOR GROWTH

14
14

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014

PM8/SELIGI, MALAYSIA

In Q2 2014, EnQuest announced the 

acquisition of an operated interest in 

the PM8 PSC fields and the Seligi oil 

field from ExxonMobil. EnQuest also 

signed an agreement with PETRONAS 

to extend the term of the production 

sharing contract, comprising PM8 PSC 

assets and the Seligi oil field, to 2033 

(‘PM8 PSC Extension’). The Seligi oil 

field was once the largest oil field in 

Peninsular Malaysia. 

This acquisition builds on EnQuest’s core skill of enhancing value 

from maturing fields and provides EnQuest a platform to pursue 

further prospective development opportunities in the longer 

term. This expansion of EnQuest’s Malaysian operation also 

represents a further deepening of our relationship with 

PETRONAS, following the signing of the Tanjong Baram risk 

service contract. 

EnQuest formally assumed operatorship of PM8/Seligi at the 

end of 2014, following a swift and efficient transition process.

PM8/Seligi has already materially increased EnQuest’s overall 

production levels; by Q4 2014, these new fields were producing 

approximately 15,000 Boepd, gross. EnQuest is focused on an 

ongoing programme to target efficiency improvements and to 

maximise recovery from the fields.

HIGHLIGHTS

 ` Seligi comprises a main production platform, Seligi-A, 

and seven minimum facility satellite platforms

 ` PM8 is made up of a network of six developed fields, 

serviced by four minimum facility platforms linked back 

to Seligi-A

Average EnQuest Production H2 2014

Malaysia

UK

2 3 %

7 7 %

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
Job: 

Working_EnQuest_AR14_FrontSPREADS 

Working_EnQuest_AR14_FrontSPREADS 

Job: 

Proof Read by:

Proof Read by:

Operator: rich  

Operator: rich  

Set-up: 

paul 

Set-up: 

paul 

Proof: 

Date: 

06 

Proof: 

06 

31 March 2015 4:41 PM 

31 March 2015 4:41 PM 

First Read/Revisions

Date: 

First Read/Revisions

Job: 

Working_EnQuest_AR14_FrontSPREADS 

Working_EnQuest_AR14_FrontSPREADS 

Job: 

Proof Read by:

Proof Read by:

Operator: rich  

Operator: rich  

Set-up: 

paul 

Set-up: 

paul 

Proof: 

Date: 

06 

Proof: 

06 

31 March 2015 4:41 PM 

31 March 2015 4:41 PM 

First Read/Revisions

Date: 

First Read/Revisions

STRATEGIC 
REPORT

GOVERNANCE

FINANCIALS

PM8/SELIGI, MALAYSIA

PM8/SELIGI, MALAYSIA

PM8/SELIGI, MALAYSIA

In Q2 2014, EnQuest announced the 
acquisition of an operated interest in 
the PM8 PSC fields and the Seligi oil 
field from ExxonMobil. EnQuest also 
signed an agreement with PETRONAS 
to extend the term of the production 
sharing contract, comprising PM8 PSC 
assets and the Seligi oil field, to 2033 
(‘PM8 PSC Extension’). The Seligi oil 
field was once the largest oil field in 
Peninsular Malaysia. 

In Q2 2014, EnQuest announced the 
acquisition of an operated interest in 
the PM8 PSC fields and the Seligi oil 
field from ExxonMobil. EnQuest also 
signed an agreement with PETRONAS 
to extend the term of the production 
sharing contract, comprising PM8 PSC 
assets and the Seligi oil field, to 2033 
(‘PM8 PSC Extension’). The Seligi oil 
field was once the largest oil field in 
Peninsular Malaysia. 

In Q2 2014, EnQuest announced the 
acquisition of an operated interest in 
the PM8 PSC fields and the Seligi oil 
field from ExxonMobil. EnQuest also 
signed an agreement with PETRONAS 
to extend the term of the production 
sharing contract, comprising PM8 PSC 
assets and the Seligi oil field, to 2033 
(‘PM8 PSC Extension’). The Seligi oil 
field was once the largest oil field in 
Peninsular Malaysia. 

This acquisition builds on EnQuest’s core skill of enhancing value 
This acquisition builds on EnQuest’s core skill of enhancing value 
This acquisition builds on EnQuest’s core skill of enhancing value 
from maturing fields and provides EnQuest a platform to pursue 
from maturing fields and provides EnQuest a platform to pursue 
from maturing fields and provides EnQuest a platform to pursue 
further prospective development opportunities in the longer 
further prospective development opportunities in the longer 
further prospective development opportunities in the longer 
term. This expansion of EnQuest’s Malaysian operation also 
term. This expansion of EnQuest’s Malaysian operation also 
term. This expansion of EnQuest’s Malaysian operation also 
represents a further deepening of our relationship with 
represents a further deepening of our relationship with 
represents a further deepening of our relationship with 
PETRONAS, following the signing of the Tanjong Baram risk 
PETRONAS, following the signing of the Tanjong Baram risk 
PETRONAS, following the signing of the Tanjong Baram risk 
service contract. 
service contract. 
service contract. 

EnQuest formally assumed operatorship of PM8/Seligi at the 
end of 2014, following a swift and efficient transition process.

EnQuest formally assumed operatorship of PM8/Seligi at the 
end of 2014, following a swift and efficient transition process.

EnQuest formally assumed operatorship of PM8/Seligi at the 
end of 2014, following a swift and efficient transition process.

PM8/Seligi has already materially increased EnQuest’s overall 
production levels; by Q4 2014, these new fields were producing 
approximately 15,000 Boepd, gross. EnQuest is focused on an 
ongoing programme to target efficiency improvements and to 
maximise recovery from the fields.

PM8/Seligi has already materially increased EnQuest’s overall 
production levels; by Q4 2014, these new fields were producing 
approximately 15,000 Boepd, gross. EnQuest is focused on an 
ongoing programme to target efficiency improvements and to 
maximise recovery from the fields.

PM8/Seligi has already materially increased EnQuest’s overall 
production levels; by Q4 2014, these new fields were producing 
approximately 15,000 Boepd, gross. EnQuest is focused on an 
ongoing programme to target efficiency improvements and to 
maximise recovery from the fields.

HIGHLIGHTS

HIGHLIGHTS

HIGHLIGHTS

 ` Seligi comprises a main production platform, Seligi-A, 

 ` Seligi comprises a main production platform, Seligi-A, 
 ` Seligi comprises a main production platform, Seligi-A, 
and seven minimum facility satellite platforms
and seven minimum facility satellite platforms
 ` PM8 is made up of a network of six developed fields, 

 ` PM8 is made up of a network of six developed fields, 

 ` PM8 is made up of a network of six developed fields, 

and seven minimum facility satellite platforms

serviced by four minimum facility platforms linked back 
to Seligi-A

serviced by four minimum facility platforms linked back 
to Seligi-A

serviced by four minimum facility platforms linked back 
to Seligi-A

Average EnQuest Production H2 2014

Average EnQuest Production H2 2014

Average EnQuest Production H2 2014

S

E

S

E

P

C

P

C

S

U

S

M

M

U

H

8

R

8

R

H

/

E

/

E

W

W

A

A

T

I

T

S

T

E

D

I

T

R

I

R

I

O

H

N

O

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C

H

N

C

S

D

E

L

I

O

O

2

G

2

G

A

G

G

I

A

0

I 

3

P

0

3

N

C

N

C

3

E

O

3

R

M

M

I 

B

I

E

P

B

O

R

I

N

N

X

N

O

X

N

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T

T

D

E

T

T

D

E

E

R

D

E

R

D

U

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N

A

N

A

C

C

S

I

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T

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T

I

S

I

C

T

T

I

O

O

O

N

N

N

N

DRIVING RESULTS

DRIVING RESULTS

ACQUISITIONS:

ACQUISITIONS:

IDENTIFYING

IDENTIFYING

FUTURE

FUTURE

OPPORTUNITIES

OPPORTUNITIES

FOR GROWTH

FOR GROWTH

UK

UK

UK

Malaysia

Malaysia

Malaysia

2 3 %
7 7 %

2 3 %
7 7 %

2 3 %
7 7 %

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014

15
15

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
CHAIRMAN’S 
STATEMENT

During 2014, EnQuest delivered a 
strong operational performance and 
reacted swiftly to the oil price declines 
witnessed in the second half of the year. 

Dr James Buckee 
Chairman

Five years of strong reserves growth

 514% reserve replacement ratio
 Reserve life over 20 years 

Reserves 2010–2014 (MMboe)

)
8
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ENQUEST VALUES
RESPECT 

Respect is key to everything that EnQuest does, both 
personally and professionally. It represents who we are, how 
we operate within the business, and how we interact with our 
external business partners and associates. Respect for safety, 
personnel and the environment is critical to how we are 
perceived by our competitors as the Company strives to 
succeed to be the best at what we do. 
JULIA WALKER, EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT

16

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Governance 
In 2014, EnQuest complied in full with the 2012 UK Corporate 
Governance Code. In September 2014, the Financial Reporting 
Council published the revised 2014 UK Corporate Governance 
Code, compliance with which will continue to be reported annually by 
EnQuest. We are well advanced in implementing our responses to the 
changes brought in by the 2014 UK Corporate Governance Code. 

Corporate governance for EnQuest is not merely following a set of 
rules, but embedding a framework which supports our core values 
and, provides structure for how we are organised, how we manage 
risk, how we behave and how we provide assurance in respect of 
performance. In 2014, the Board strengthened a number of areas 
of corporate governance including the risk management framework 
and corporate responsibility. We work to ensure that all elements of 
corporate governance are part of our corporate culture and we have 
developed an environment which nurtures, develops and maintains 
our approach. 

The Board reviewed the Company’s corporate responsibility model. 
We ensured that we have strong relevant policies in place, covering 
the areas of Health and Safety, People, Business Environment, 
Business Conduct and Community. We will be working towards 
monitoring the impact and progress of these areas in the coming 
period. Our UK Health and Safety policy has now also been 
implemented in our international projects in Malaysia, with 
supplemental policies as required by local legislation.

Dividend
The Company has not declared or paid any dividends since 
incorporation in January 2010 and does not intend to pay dividends 
in the near future. Any future payment of dividends is expected to 
depend on the earnings and financial condition of the Company and 
on such other factors as the Board of Directors of the Company 
considers appropriate.

Delivering sustainable growth
We are managing our business to withstand a prolonged period 
of low oil prices and I am confident that EnQuest will emerge from 
this down cycle in even better shape to implement our strategy 
successfully. The life of the Alma/Galia field is over ten years and the 
Kraken field has a twenty five year life, this is a long term business. 

EnQuest’s performance
During 2014, EnQuest delivered a strong operational performance 
and reacted swiftly to the oil price declines witnessed in the second 
half of the year. The Company has a significant capital programme 
associated with its Kraken investment in 2015 and 2016 and looks 
forward to 2017, when Kraken is planned to be onstream.

Despite the recent downturn in the oil price, since EnQuest’s 
inception five years ago, we have grown our original net 2P 
reserve base by over 173%, representing a replacement ratio of 
514%. Consequently, EnQuest started 2015, with a reserve life of 
over 20 years. During these first five years, EnQuest generated 
c.$2.7 billion in cash flow from operations. 

Industry background 
From the outset, EnQuest has worked closely with the industry 
and the UK Government to bring about structural changes to 
the business environment in the North Sea, which we believe are 
essential to the future of the industry. The North Sea needs a stable 
and incentivising fiscal regime with regulation that encourages new 
development activity and promotes greater collaboration between 
operators, leading to a lower cost base. The steep decline in 
oil prices during the latter part of 2014 has acted as a catalyst 
for action. 

EnQuest’s response to lower oil prices
In response to declining oil prices, EnQuest took action to 
protect against further oil price falls and to maximise cost reduction. 
EnQuest accelerated its oil price hedging programme and worked 
closely with the supply chain to reduce operating and capital 
expenditure. While we remain confident about the long term 
prospects for the oil price, we are managing our business so as to 
allow us to withstand a more prolonged period of lower oil prices. 

EnQuest’s funding facilities include a $1.2 billion committed 
credit facility, with a $500 million accordion. EnQuest renegotiated 
covenants with its lending banks and these have been relaxed until 
mid-2017. Ongoing continued compliance with its covenants is a 
priority for 2015 and beyond. With its credit facility and a long 
dated debt maturity profile, the financial position of the Company 
remains resilient. 

At the same time, EnQuest delivered very good operational 
performance in 2014, with strong production growth and 
industry leading levels of production efficiency. The Alma/Galia 
development project recovered from delays in the first half of 2014, 
and since then it has remained on schedule. Since its sanction at the 
end of 2013, the Kraken development project has consistently been 
on schedule and on budget. 

The EnQuest Board
The composition of the Board remained constant during 2014. The 
Directors assess and evolve EnQuest’s strategy, taking key decisions 
on its implementation. In 2014 these included the acquisition of 
EnQuest’s first producing assets outside the North Sea, and in 2015 
the Board also took measured actions in light of the lower oil price 
environment, in terms of setting the new business plans for 2015 
and beyond. 

EnQuest’s results are a reflection of the quality of our people and on 
behalf of the Board, I would like to thank my EnQuest colleagues for 
their continued hard work, commitment to our values, and 
successful pursuit of the Company’s development plans. 

17

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014 
CHIEF 
EXECUTIVE’S 
REPORT 

EnQuest’s core competency in 
controlling costs and managing 
operations efficiently is particularly 
important in the current climate of 
low oil prices.

Amjad Bseisu
Chief Executive

Reserves (MMboe)

+13.0% 

Production (Boepd)

+15.2% 

EBITDA ($ million)

-6.5% 

2013

2014

.

8
4
9
1

.

0
0
2
2

2013

2014

2
2
2
,
4
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5
9
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2013

2014

3
.
1
2
6

0
.
1
8
5

18

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014 
 
EnQuest’s performance, business model and strategy
EnQuest’s core competency in controlling costs and managing 
operations efficiently is particularly important in the current climate 
of low oil prices. Despite challenging macro conditions, EnQuest 
delivered a strong operational performance in 2014, with production 
of 27,895 Boepd, whilst EBITDA was $581 million. 2014 was a record 
year for production and was up 15% on the prior year. The acquisition 
of the Seligi and PM8 oil fields in Malaysia provided EnQuest with its 
first contribution from outside the North Sea, countering the impact 
of delay to the Alma/Galia project. 

EnQuest delivered an increase in its net 2P reserve base, up by 
25.2 MMboe to 220.0 MMboe, reflecting a reserve replacement 
ratio of approximately 350% for 2014. The increase resulted partly 
from positive revisions to reserve estimates from infill drilling and 
an improved knowledge of the reservoirs. Approval of the Ythan 
discovery for development, and the promotion of the Scolty and 
Crathes discoveries following development planning, also 
contributed to the increase in EnQuest’s reserve base. Further 
additions arose from 2014 acquisitions, including interests in the 
Greater Kittiwake Area (‘GKA’) and PM8/Seligi in Malaysia. 

During the latter part of 2014, EnQuest acted quickly to counter 
the impact of a rapid decline in oil prices, increasing the hedging 
programme and significantly cutting 2015 cash capital expenditure 
to c.$600 million, with reductions from both developments and 
existing fields. We are targeting a reduction in EnQuest’s operating 
cost per barrel of c.10%, from $42.1/boe in 2014 to an average of 
c.$38/boe in 2015. This is being achieved through lower cost barrels 
coming onstream, reducing opex per barrel in newly acquired fields, 
and through substantial direct cost savings. We are targeting cost 
savings across the business, through the supply chain and by 
improving efficiencies in our operations, through maximising 
production and minimising waste. We have cut limited company 
contractor rates and reduced our headcount in the UK and logistics 
costs are down significantly. This agile focused approach enabled 
EnQuest to hold unit operating costs flat during its first five years, 
while average costs in the North Sea doubled. EnQuest continues to 
work with the supply chain and contractors to achieve further cost 
savings and optimisation. 

Given the low oil price environment, EnQuest negotiated a 
relaxation of covenants to its revolving credit facility until mid-2017. 
This continued commitment from our lenders recognises the cash 
flow generation of EnQuest’s business and in particular the 
expected increases in cash flow from the Alma/Galia and Kraken 
developments.

EnQuest has achieved a 173% increase in net oil reserves over the last 
five years, having converted more than half of the original reserves 
into flowing barrels. Despite the reductions to the investment 
programme, EnQuest remains on course to achieve annual net 
production from the UK North Sea of 50,000 Boepd, with six 
operated producing hubs in the UK. In Malaysia, PM8/Seligi has the 
potential to increase international production significantly over the 
coming years. 

Health, safety, environment and assurance (‘HSE&A’)
In 2014, EnQuest met its commitment to deliver safe results, with 
the best HSE performance since formation in April 2010. EnQuest 
achieved a Lost-Time Incident Frequency Rate (‘LTIFR’) of zero and 
a Recordable Incident Frequency Rate (‘RIFR’) below the industry 
average. There were no High Potential Incidents (‘HIPO’s): the last 
recorded HIPO was in April 2013.

In addition, the producing northern North Sea assets achieved a 
total of 11 years without a Lost-Time Incident (‘LTI’) and 11 million 
man hours LTI-free. Health and Safety Executive inspections were 
performed on all the assets, and no major issues were identified. 
These results are a testament to the focus given to HSE&A. 

North Sea operations
In 2014, EnQuest delivered good production of 24,436 Boepd in 
the UK, marginally ahead of the 24,222 Boepd in 2013. This reflects 
the continuing strength of field reservoir performance and high 
production efficiency from EnQuest’s existing UK assets. With 
production efficiency from existing assets averaging 88% in 2014, 
EnQuest is likely to have further improved its position in the Oil & 
Gas UK rankings.

EnQuest delivered 12 wells in 2014, including successful wells at 
Heather and Don South West. At the Dons, the Ythan development 
in Don North East, moved from licence award, through Field 
Development Plan submission and approval, to spudding of the 
first well in less than 12 months. The Thistle life extension project 
continued to improve production levels in 2014. Thistle produced 
over three million barrels of oil for the first time since 1997. The 
Greater Kittiwake Area (‘GKA’) assets were acquired early in 2014. 
Subsequent to the acquisition of GKA, the discovery of Avalon 
further enhanced the potential of GKA. 

ENQUEST VALUES
PASSION

With the right level of passion people remain motivated and 
energised to perform at the highest level. I am passionate 
about my performance, continuously challenging the way I, 
and the organisation do things. This is important when working 
at EnQuest. Passionate people work hard to chase the next 
result, and will go that extra yard to deliver. 
DEREK ELLINGTON, HEATHER OPERATIONS MANAGER

19

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S 
REPORT 
CONTINUED

North Sea acquisitions
In Q1 2014, EnQuest applied for and was offered an ‘out of round’ 
licence in the Don North East area (‘Don NE’) for blocks 211/18e 
and 211/19c. This included the Area 23 and Area 24 discovered oil 
accumulations and an undrilled extension to the Don NE field. 
Following the award of this licence a Field Development Plan for 
‘Ythan’ was submitted and approved.

In Q1 2014, EnQuest announced the acquisition of the Greater 
Kittiwake Area assets. The acquisition fits within the goals of 
managing mature fields and of exploiting nearby discoveries and near 
field exploration opportunities. The Scolty and Crathes discoveries 
are within the GKA area, with potential to benefit from a tie-back to 
Kittiwake. The combination of these opportunities also facilitates the 
extension of the GKA field life itself.

The base consideration for the acquisition was $39.9 million, 
which following working capital and other adjustments resulted 
in the payment of a cash consideration of $30.3 million. When the 
acquisition was announced, the additional net 2P reserves were 
recorded as 4.7 MMboe as at the economic date of 1 January 2013. 
Following GKA post acquisition production of a net 0.5 million barrels 
of oil in 2014, EnQuest recorded net 2P reserves of c.8 MMbbls in 
GKA as at the end of 2014. Reasons for the net increase included not 
only the addition of Scolty/Crathes, but also improved performance 
and the lengthening of the field life. 

In Q4 2014, EnQuest was offered and accepted eight licences as 
part of the UK 28th North Sea licensing round. 

North Sea developments
Alma/Galia 
During 2014, both the subsea and the drilling programmes for the 
Alma/Galia project were delivered on time. By the end of the year, 
five production wells were fully completed and ready for tie-in and 
the subsea infrastructure was in place. However, delays to the 
programme for the Floating Production, Storage and Offloading 
vessel (‘FPSO’, the ‘EnQuest Producer’) had moved the earliest 
possible ‘sailaway’ date into the winter months. This would have 
significantly increased the operational risks and costs of waiting for 
appropriate weather conditions. Sailaway and first oil were therefore 
rescheduled to spring 2015 and to mid-2015 respectively. Since 
August 2014, the FPSO construction has remained on track and 
following first oil, initial net peak production of c.13,000 Boepd is 
expected, significantly increasing EnQuest’s production profile. 
Plateau unit operating cost is expected to be approximately $15/bbl 
to $20/bbl. 

Delays and cost increases for the EnQuest Producer initially 
stemmed from changes to the implementation of safety codes, 
such as for moorings and also other regulatory imposed scope 
changes. The extent of work required on the vessel was also 
greater than anticipated. 

The FPSO is essentially now a new vessel with all the topsides 
having been replaced. Ownership of the vessel at first oil provides 
EnQuest with a range of additional funding options, such as a 
potential sale and leaseback. 

EnQuest’s net 2P reserves for Alma/Galia increased slightly to 
c.26 MMboe at the start of 2015, following the positive results 
from the wells which have been drilled. 

ENQUEST VALUES
EMPOWERMENT

Empowerment means that I work within a culture that gives 
me the authority to do my job to the best of my ability, with full 
understanding of EnQuest’s vision and drivers. Empowerment is 
important to EnQuest as it promotes autonomy and nimbleness 
within the Company, gives us an edge on our competitors, 
permits rapid response to the ever changing circumstances we 
experience and allows individuals to develop and grow.
LYNNE MACPHERSON, GREATER KITTIWAKE AREA MANAGER

Kraken 
During 2014, the Kraken project progressed well, on budget and 
on schedule. 

In Q2 2014, the FPSO donor vessel arrived at the shipyard in 
Singapore and its conversion scope commenced. In H2 2014, 
EnQuest commenced installation of the subsea structures at the 
first drill centre, where the initial wells for the development will be 
drilled. Detailed engineering, procurement and manufacture for all 
equipment relating to wells, subsea infrastructure and the FPSO 
continued throughout 2014.

With the Kraken project on budget, its anticipated net capital 
expenditure estimate is unchanged at $1.4 billion to first oil. The full 
cycle breakeven cost for the project continues to be in the region of 
$55/bbl. In addition, with $512 million invested to the end of 2014, 
the forward economics of the 25 year life project are strong with an 
internal rate of return in the mid thirties per cent, net to EnQuest 
using the forward curve in early March 2015. 

20

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 20142015 year to date
EnQuest has performed well at the start of 2015; production 
efficiency has again been very strong on our North Sea assets and 
our focus on operational efficiencies in PM8/Seligi has been 
delivering excellent daily production. 

The EnQuest Producer programme is proceeding according to 
schedule in Q1 2015; the boilers were ignited and fired, notice 
was given to moor and hook up the vessel in the field. The FPSO 
recently left the yard in Newcastle, and has successfully completed 
marine performance trials in deeper water nearby, on schedule for 
first oil from Alma/Galia in the middle of this year. 

The drilling of an appraisal well in Kraken West has confirmed 
the presence of oil, with potential for upside. Further evaluation 
is ongoing. 

Hedging for 2015 was already in place and hedging is now also in 
place for 2016, currently with 10 million barrels hedged through puts 
averaging c.$68 per barrel in 2016. 

Outlook for the rest of 2015 and beyond
EnQuest is focused on performance and execution. Safety will always 
be a priority and we are focused on operational efficiency and further 
reducing costs. Alma/Galia is on track for first production in the 
middle of the year. Production for 2015 is expected to be an average 
of between 33,000 Boepd and 36,000 Boepd, a 24% increase over 
2014 at the mid-point of the range. With unit operating expenditure 
of approximately $15/bbl to $20/bbl during the period of initial net 
peak volumes, Alma/Galia will also contribute towards a reduction in 
EnQuest’s 2015 unit operating costs of c.10% over 2014. 

2015 priorities also include delivering the $600 million cash capital 
expenditure programme, focused on the Kraken development 
project. The drilling programme has been rationalised to existing 
commitments and to projects with high margin barrels, including the 
drilling of three low cost near field production wells on Thistle, a 
Gadwall sidetrack and bringing Alma/Galia onstream. 

In Malaysia, the 2015 work programme on PM8/Seligi will be 
focused on well intervention activities and improving the field 
infrastructure. For Tanjong Baram, the implementation of our 
development plan is well underway, with first oil targeted by the end 
of H1 2015. 

In Q1 2015, covenants of the credit facility were relaxed giving 
significant flexibility in a lower oil price environment. EnQuest’s focus 
in 2015 will be on near term profitable cash flow and optimising the 
long term value of the business. If the low oil price environment 
continues, then beyond existing development commitments, capital 
expenditure will continue to be rationalised.

The speed and size of changes made to the business in response 
to deteriorating energy market conditions was achieved through 
the agility and focus inherent in EnQuest’s business model. EnQuest 
delivers material improvements to mature fields and we will continue 
doing so in 2015 and beyond. 

International
2014 was a transformational year for EnQuest’s international 
business, particularly with the acquisition of the PM8/Seligi fields, 
delivering our first production from outside the North Sea. 

In Q2 2014, EnQuest announced the signing of a small field risk 
service contract with Petroliam Nasional Berhad (‘Petronas’), the 
national oil company for Malaysia, for the development and 
production of petroleum from the Tanjong Baram field offshore 
Sarawak, Malaysia. Start-up is expected in mid-2015. Separately, the 
Kitabu prospect, was drilled in Q1 2014, however the well failed to 
encounter hydrocarbons; this was in the SB307/SB308 contract area 
where EnQuest has a non-operated interest.

Later in Q2 2014, EnQuest announced a significant expansion 
of its footprint in Malaysia, through the acquisition of the PM8 
Production Sharing Contract (‘PSC’) fields and the Seligi oil field, 
from ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Malaysia Inc; both 
EnQuest and Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd to hold participating 
interests. EnQuest also signed an agreement with Petronas to 
extend the term of the PSC, comprising PM8 PSC assets and the 
Seligi oil field to 2033 (formally ‘PM8 PSC (Extension)’ or simply 
‘PM8/Seligi’). This acquisition has a good strategic fit and offers 
considerable potential for EnQuest to use its core skills in enhancing 
value from maturing fields. 

The base consideration for the acquisition was $67.0 million, which 
following interim period adjustments resulted in the payment of a 
cash consideration of $24.7 million. Following strong production of 
a net 0.8 million barrels of oil in 2014, EnQuest recorded net 2P 
reserves of c.15 MMbbls in PM8/Seligi as at the end of 2014. In 
December 2014, following a short transition period, EnQuest took 
over operatorship and is working on an ongoing programme to 
target further efficiency improvements and to maximise recovery. 
Production in the last six months of 2014 was approximately 7,000 
Boepd net, on a working interest basis and this continued to 
improve into 2015. 

In February 2015, EnQuest announced that it had exited from its 
small investment in Tunisia, retention of which had been subject to 
conditions which were not satisfied within the relevant timeframe. 
Consideration of $22 million had been kept in escrow and was duly 
returned to EnQuest. 

In 2014, EnQuest was offered and accepted 2 licences as part 
of the 2014 Awards in Pre-Defined Areas (‘APA’) Norwegian 
Licensing Round.

Financial performance 
In 2014, EnQuest generated EBITDA of $581 million, benefiting from 
further action taken on costs in H2 2014 and also from its full year 
currency hedging programme. 

Following the delays to the Alma/Galia project in early 2014, 
EnQuest’s net capex cost for the first phase of the project is 
expected to be c.$55/bbl.

EnQuest’s funding facilities include c.$900 million of bonds and a 
committed credit facility of $1.2 billion plus an accordion of up to a 
further $500 million. 2014 year end net debt was $933 million, with 
$218 million drawn on the credit facility utilisation before taking into 
account cash balances. 

Total full year 2014 unit operating costs of $42.1 per barrel reflected 
the initial benefit of cost reduction initiatives taken in H2 2014 and 
the lower exchange rate and generally a year of good operational 
performance and strong control of direct costs. 

There were non-cash post-tax impairments of $335.3 million, due to 
lower near term oil price assumptions.

21

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014 
BUSINESS REVIEW
RISKS AND 
UNCERTAINTIES

Management of risks and uncertainties 
The Board has articulated EnQuest’s strategy 
to deliver shareholder value by:

 ` exploiting its hydrocarbon reserves;
 ` commercialising and developing 

discoveries;

 ` converting its contingent resources into 

reserves; and 

 ` pursuing selective acquisitions.

In pursuit of this strategy, EnQuest has to face and manage a variety of risks. Accordingly, the 
Board has established a risk management framework to enhance effective risk management 
within the following overarching statement of risk appetite approved by the Board:

 ` We aim to deliver consistently above median investment performance 
 ` We will manage the investment portfolio against agreed key performance indicators 
 ` We seek to avoid reputational risk by ensuring that our operational processes and 

practices reduce the potential for error as far as practical 

 ` We seek to embed a risk culture within our organisation which does not encourage 

excessive risk taking activities and is in line with overall risk appetite 

 ` We seek to manage operational risk by means of a variety of controls to prevent or 

mitigate occurrence 

 ` We set clear tolerances for all material operational risks to minimise overall operational 

losses, with zero tolerance for criminal conduct

A Risk Committee periodically reviews and updates the Group Risk Register based on the 
individual risk registers of its members. The Group Risk Register, along with an assurance 
mapping exercise and a risk report (focused on the most critical risks and emerging and 
changing risk profiles), is periodically reviewed by the Board (with senior management), to 
ensure that key issues are being adequately identified and actively managed. In addition, 
a system of risk reviews has been established to provide oversight in respect of 
prospective significant commitments.

Key business risks 
The Group’s principal risks are those which could prevent the business from executing its 
strategy and creating value for shareholders or lead to a significant loss of reputation.

Set out below are the principal risks and the mitigations together with an estimate of the 
potential impact and likelihood of occurrence after the mitigation actions and how these 
have changed in the past year. 

RISK

MITIGATION

Health, safety and environment (HSE)
Oil and gas development, production and exploration 
activities are complex and HSE risks cover many areas 
including major accident hazards, personal health and 
safety, compliance with regulatory requirements and 
potential environmental harm.

Potential impact – Medium (2013 Medium)
Likelihood – Low (2013 Low)

There has been no material change in the potential 
impact or likelihood and the Group’s overall record 
on HSE remains robust. 

The Group maintains, in conjunction with its core contractors, a comprehensive programme of 
health, safety, environmental, asset integrity and assurance activities and has implemented a 
continual improvement programme, promoting a culture of transparency in relation to HSE 
matters. The Group has established a Corporate HSE Committee which meets quarterly. HSE 
performance is discussed at each Board meeting.

In addition, the Group has a positive, transparent relationship with the UK Health and Safety 
Executive and Department of Energy & Climate Change.

EnQuest’s HSE&A Policy and Principles are now fully integrated across our operated sites and 
this has enabled an increased focus on Health, Safety and the Environment. There is a strong 
assurance programme in place to ensure EnQuest complies with its Policy and Principles and 
regulatory commitments. 

Production
The Group’s production is critical to its success and 
is subject to a variety of risks including subsurface 
uncertainties, operating in a mature field 
environment and potential for significant 
unexpected shutdowns and unplanned expenditure 
to occur (particularly where remediation may be 
dependent on suitable weather conditions offshore).

Lower than expected reservoir performance may 
have a material impact on the Group’s results.

The Group’s delivery infrastructure in the UKCS is 
mostly dependent on the Sullom Voe Terminal.

Longer term production is threatened if low oil 
prices bring forward decommissioning timelines.

Potential impact – High (2013 High)
Likelihood – Low (2013 Low)

There has been no material change in the potential 
impact or likelihood.

The Group’s programme of asset integrity and assurance activities provides leading indicators of 
significant potential issues which may result in unplanned shutdowns or which may in other respects 
have the potential to undermine asset availability and uptime. The Group continually assesses the 
condition of its assets and operates extensive maintenance and inspection procedures designed to 
minimise the risk of unplanned shutdowns and expenditure. The Group monitors both leading and 
lagging KPIs in relation to its maintenance activities and liaises closely with its downstream operators 
to minimise pipeline and terminal production impacts.

Production efficiency is continually monitored and identified remedial and improvement 
opportunities, undertaken as required. A continual, rigorous cost focus is also maintained. 

Life of asset production profiles are audited by independent reserves auditors. The Group also 
undertakes regular internal reviews. The Group’s forecasts of production are risked to reflect 
appropriate production risks.

The Sullom Voe Terminal has a good safety record and its safety and operational performance 
levels are regularly monitored and challenged by the Group and other terminal owners and 
users to ensure that operational integrity is maintained. Nevertheless, the Group actively 
continues to explore the potential of alternative transport options and developing hubs that 
may provide cost savings. 

22

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014RISK

MITIGATION

Project execution 
The Group’s success will be dependent upon 
bringing new developments, such as Alma/Galia 
(which was not delivered to schedule or budget) and 
Kraken, to production on budget and on schedule. 
To be successful, the Group must ensure that project 
implementation is both timely and on budget. 
Failure to do so may have a material negative impact 
on the Group’s performance.

Potential impact – High (2013 High)
Likelihood – Medium (2013 Medium)

The likelihood of occurrence of an event impacting 
project execution will have increased to an extent by 
virtue of the commencement of the capital works on 
Kraken, as at 13 March 2015. However, It should be 
noted that project execution risk on Alma/Galia is 
diminishing as the project enters its final stages, with 
Hook-up and Commissioning (HUC) of the FPSO now 
underway (as at 13 March 2015). All wells required for 
first oil are already drilled, completed and tied in. 

The Group has project teams which are responsible for the planning and execution of new 
projects with a dedicated team for each development. The Group has detailed controls, systems 
and monitoring processes in place to ensure that deadlines are met, costs are controlled and 
that design concepts and Field Development Plans are adhered to and implemented. These 
are modified when circumstances require and only through a controlled management of change 
process and with the necessary internal and external authorisation and communication. The Group 
also engages third party assurance experts to review, challenge and, where appropriate, make 
recommendations to improve the processes for project management, cost control and governance 
of major projects. EnQuest ensures that responsibility for delivering time-critical supplier 
obligations and lead times are fully understood, acknowledged and proactively managed by the 
most senior levels within supplier organisations.

The Kraken development was sanctioned by DECC and EnQuest’s partners in November 2013. First oil 
production is scheduled for 2017. The development involves the drilling of 25 new subsea horizontal 
wells which will be connected to an FPSO. Prior to sanction, EnQuest identified and optimised the 
development plan using EnQuest’s pre-investment assurance processes. Six appraisal wells have 
been drilled in the area, new seismic data was completed, considerable subsurface modelling was 
undertaken and front end engineering and design (FEED) studies were carried out for the FPSO and 
subsea integrated equipment. The first two subsea template structures were successfully installed on 
schedule in September 2014. In order to reduce project cost risk, more than 75% of the capital 
expenditure has been defined by actual tendering and placing of contracts. The FPSO involves 
conversion of an existing tanker which will be under a leased contracting arrangement for a fixed price. 

Reserve replacement
Failure to develop its contingent and prospective 
resources or secure new licences and/or asset 
acquisitions and realise their expected value.

Potential impact – High (2013 High)
Likelihood – Medium (2013 Low)

The likelihood has increased as oil price volatility 
limits business development activity. Low oil prices 
can potentially affect development of contingent 
and prospective resources and can also affect 
reserve certifications. 

Financial
Inability to fund financial commitments. 

The Group’s revolving credit facility and retail bond 
contain certain financial covenants (each containing 
covenants based on the ratio of net indebtedness 
to EBITDA and finance charges to EBITDA) and in 
the case of the revolving credit facility, a requirement 
for liquidity testing. Prolonged low oil prices, cost 
increases and production delays or outages could 
threaten the Group’s ability to comply with 
relevant covenants.

Potential impact – High (2013 High)
Likelihood – Medium (2013 Medium)

Low oil prices have impacted cash flow adversely, 
increasing the potential impact and likelihood. 
However, it is considered that the risk is being 
appropriately mitigated and remains controlled. 
Further information is contained in the Going Concern 
paragraph on pages 42 and 43 of the Financial Review. 

Human resources
The Group’s success is dependent upon its ability 
to attract and retain key personnel and develop 
organisational capability to deliver strategic growth. 
Industrial action across the sector could also impact 
on the operations of the Group.

Potential impact – Low (2013 Medium)
Likelihood – Low (2013 Low)

There has been a reduction in the potential impact 
due to low oil prices impacting the buoyancy of the 
employment market. 

The Group puts a strong emphasis on subsurface analysis and employs industry leading 
professionals. The Group continues to recruit in a variety of technical positions which enables it to 
manage existing assets and evaluate the acquisition of new assets and licences. 

All analysis is subject to internal and, where appropriate, external review. All reserves are currently 
externally audited by a Competent Person. In addition, EnQuest has active business development 
teams both in the UK and internationally developing a range of opportunities and liaising with 
vendors/government.

During the year, the Group issued a $650m High Yield Bond which can be used to fund its 
development activities, and agreed a commercial loan of £31.8m in order to fund its Aberdeen office 
development. This funding is supported by operating cash inflow from the Group’s producing assets. 
The Group reviews its cash flow requirements on an ongoing basis to ensure it has suitable resources 
for its needs. Post year end, the Group renegotiated certain financial covenants under its revolving 
credit facility to provide greater flexibility for its capital investment programme. The net debt / 
EBITDA covenant has been increased to five times and the ratio of financial charges to EBITDA is 
reduced to three times, both until mid-2017. Ongoing compliance with the financial covenants under 
all of the Group’s lending arrangements (including the $650m High Yield Bonds and £155m Retail 
Bonds) is actively monitored and reviewed.

The Group is maintaining a focus on costs through supplier renegotiations, cost-cutting and 
rationalisation. Where costs are incurred by external service providers, e.g. at Sullom Voe Terminal, 
the Group actively challenges operating costs. 

The Group has established a competent employee base to execute its principal activities. In addition 
to this, the Group, which seeks to maintain good relationships with its employees and contractor 
companies, regularly monitors the employment market to provide remuneration packages, bonus 
plans and long term share-based incentive plans that incentivise performance and long term 
commitment from our employees to the Group.

EnQuest is undertaking a number of human resource initiatives. These initiatives are part of the overall 
People and Organisation strategy and have specific themes relating to Organisation, People, 
Performance and Culture. It is a Board-level priority that the Executive and senior management have 
the right mix of skills and experience. 

The Group also maintains market-competitive contracts with key suppliers to support the execution of 
work where the necessary skills do not exist within the Group’s employee base.

The focus on Executive and senior management retention, succession planning and development 
remains an important priority for the Board and an increasing emphasis will continue to be placed 
on this. 

23

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014BUSINESS REVIEW
RISKS AND 
UNCERTAINTIES
CONTINUED

RISK

MITIGATION

Operational activities are conducted in accordance with approved policies, standards and 
procedures. Interface agreements are agreed with all core contractors.

The Group undertakes regular audit activities to provide assurance on compliance with established 
policies, standards and procedures.

This risk is being mitigated by a number of measures including hedging production, renegotiating 
supplier contracts and lending arrangements and reducing costs and commitments.

The Group monitors oil price sensitivity relative to its capital commitments and has a policy which 
allows hedging of its production. The Group has hedged significant amounts of its production in 
2015 and 2016 using puts and calls. This ensures that the Group will receive a minimum oil price for 
its production.

In order to develop its resources, the Group needs to be able to fund substantial levels of 
investment. The Group will therefore regularly review and implement suitable policies to hedge 
against the possible negative funding impacts of changes in oil prices whilst remaining within the 
limits set by its revolving credit facility.

The Group has established an in-house trading and marketing function to enable it to enhance its 
ability to mitigate the exposure to volatility in oil prices. 

It is difficult for the Group to predict the timing or severity of such changes. However, through Oil 
& Gas UK and other industry associations the Group does engage with government and other 
appropriate organisations in order to ensure the Group is kept abreast of expected potential 
changes and takes an active role in making appropriate representations.

All business development or investment activities recognise potential tax implications and the 
Group maintains relevant internal tax expertise.

At a more operational level, the Group has procedures to identify impending changes in relevant 
regulations to ensure legislative compliance.

The Group operates regular cash call and billing arrangements with its co-venturers to mitigate the 
Group’s credit exposure at any one point in time and keeps in regular dialogue with each of these 
parties to ensure payment. Risk of default is mitigated by joint operating agreements allowing the 
Group to take over any defaulting party’s share in an operated asset and rigorous and continual 
assessment of the financial situation of partners.

The Group generally prefers to be the operator. The Group maintains regular dialogue with its 
partners to ensure alignment of interests and to maximise the value of joint venture assets. 

Reputation
The reputational and commercial exposures to a 
major offshore incident are significant.

Potential impact – High (2013 High)
Likelihood – Low (2013 Low)

There has been no material change in the potential 
impact or likelihood.

Oil price
A material decline in oil and gas prices 
adversely affects the Group’s operations and 
financial condition. 

Potential impact – High (2013 High)
Likelihood – High (2013 Low)

The potential likelihood has increased due to 
declining and volatile oil prices. 

Political and fiscal
Unanticipated changes in the regulatory or fiscal 
environment can affect the Group’s ability to deliver 
its strategy and potentially impact revenue and 
future developments.

Potential impact – High (2013 High)
Likelihood – Medium (2013 Medium)

Although the referendum on Scottish independence 
has taken place, there is a general election in May 
2015. Whilst it appears unlikely that a new UK 
government will unexpectedly burden the industry 
in the current low oil price environment, the 
outcome of the general election is still uncertain. 

Joint venture partners
Failure by joint venture parties to fund 
their obligations.

Dependence on other parties where the Group is 
not the operator.

Potential impact – Medium (2013 Medium)
Likelihood – Medium (2013 Medium)

There has been no material change in the potential 
impact or likelihood.

24

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014RISK

MITIGATION

Competition
The Group operates in a competitive environment 
across many areas including the acquisition of oil 
and gas assets, the marketing of oil and gas, the 
procurement of oil and gas services and access to 
human resources.

Potential impact – Medium (2013 Medium)
Likelihood – Medium (2013 Low)

There has been an increase in the perceived potential 
likelihood due to recent emergence of new 
competitors for acquisitions (e.g. private equity) and 
the increased leverage of the Group. 

Portfolio Concentration
The Group’s assets are concentrated in the UK North 
Sea around a limited number of infrastructure hubs 
and existing production (which is principally only oil) 
is from mature fields. This amplifies exposure to key 
infrastructure, political/fiscal changes and oil 
price movements.

Potential impact – Medium (2013 Medium)
Likelihood – Medium (2013 Low)

International business
Whilst the majority of the Group’s activities and 
assets are in the UK, the international business is 
becoming more material. The Group’s international 
business is subject to the same risks as the UK 
business (e.g. HSE, production and project 
execution); however, there are additional risks that 
the Group faces including security of staff and 
assets, political, foreign exchange and currency 
control, taxation, legal and regulatory, cultural and 
language barriers and corruption.

Potential impact – Medium (2013 Medium) 
Likelihood – Medium (2013 Low)

The expanded international business has increased 
the likelihood of the overall risk. In addition, oil 
price uncertainty has increased the potential 
impact and likelihood of a slowdown in 
international growth plans. 

The Group endeavours to have a resilient balance sheet, which puts it in a position to be able to 
compete effectively and move quickly when looking to acquire assets.

The Group also has strong technical and business development capabilities to ensure it is well 
positioned to identify and execute potential acquisition opportunities.

The Group maintains good relations with oil and gas service providers and constantly keeps the 
market under review.

This risk is mitigated in part through acquisitions. For all acquisitions, the Group uses a number of 
business development resources to evaluate and transact acquisitions in a commercially sensitive 
matter. This includes performing extensive due diligence (using in-house and external personnel) 
and actively involving executive management in reviewing commercial, technical and other 
business risks together with mitigation measures. During 2014, EnQuest acquired the PM8/Seligi 
producing asset in Malaysia as well as the Greater Kittiwake Area. 

The Group also constantly keeps its portfolio under rigorous review and accordingly, actively 
considers the potential for making disposals, executing development projects (Alma/Galia, 
Kraken), making international acquisitions and expanding hubs. 

Prior to entering into a new country, EnQuest evaluates the host country to assess whether there is 
an adequate and established legal and political framework in place to protect and safeguard first 
its expatriate and local staff and, second, any investment within the country in question.

When evaluating international business risks, executive management reviews commercial, technical 
and other business risks together with mitigation and how risks can be managed by the business 
on an ongoing basis.

EnQuest looks to employ suitably qualified host country staff and work with good quality local 
advisers to ensure it complies within national legislation, business practices and cultural norms 
whilst at all times ensuring that staff, contractors and advisers comply with EnQuest’s business 
principles, including those on financial control, cost management, fraud and corruption.

Where appropriate, the risks may be mitigated by entering a joint venture with partners with local 
knowledge and experience.

After country entry, EnQuest maintains a dialogue with local and regional government, particularly 
with those responsible for oil, energy and fiscal matters, and may obtain support from appropriate 
risk consultancies. When there is a significant change in the risk to people or assets within a 
country, the Group takes appropriate action to safeguard people and assets. 

25

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014OPERATING REVIEW
ENQUEST THE OPERATOR 
NORTH SEA OPERATIONS

TOP QUARTILE 
PRODUCTION EFFICIENCY

Overview 
In 2014, EnQuest had its best Health, 
Safety & Environment (‘HSE’) performance 
since it was formed in April 2010, with its 
focus on HSE culture and performance. 

Good HSE performance drives good business performance, and the 
Production Efficiency (‘PE’) has been excellent. In 2014, EnQuest 
achieved an overall UK production efficiency of 88% excluding the 
new GKA assets, or of 86% including GKA. This, together with the 
delivery of successful wells at Heather and Don South West, 
enabled production of 24,436 Boepd in the North Sea in 2014. 

Looking forward to 2015, with Alma/Galia on track for first oil in the 
middle of the year, the North Sea operations team is ready to take 
control of the development as it is handed over by the projects 
team. With net peak production of c.13,000 Boepd, Alma/Galia is 
set to increase daily UK production levels by over 50%. The Gadwall 
sidetrack and other barrel adding activities will continue on the 
existing hubs. Work to finalise the best development solution for 
Scolty/Crathes will also continue. 

Neil McCulloch
President, North Sea

UK North Sea Production (Boepd)

2013

2014

2
2
2
4
2

,

6
3
4
4
2

,

UK OPERATED PRODUCING FIELDS
THISTLE/DEVERON
HEATHER/BROOM
THE DON FIELDS
GREATER KITTIWAKE AREA
ALMA/GALIA DUE ONSTREAM MID-2015

Operations summary
On Heather, the return to drilling programme was completed in 
Q1 and drilling operations have been continuous throughout the 
year with production from the platform peaking at more than 
7,000 Boepd (gross) in November, the first time such levels have 
been reached since January 2013. Heather achieved high levels 
of operational uptime, with an exceptional run of 136 continuous 
days without a production trip, due to the focus of the 
operations teams onshore and offshore. 

Substantial progress has also been made on Kittiwake. The 
return of the Mallard field to production following its workover in 
the summer added 3,000 Boepd, increasing overall Greater 
Kittiwake Area field rates to around 5,500 Boepd, less than six 
months after acquisition. 

On the Don fields, high levels of water injection were achieved 
and the drilling of the TJ production well and the scale dissolver 
programme at Don Southwest were delivered. The Don North 
East located Ythan field has progressed from open acreage 
to development in six months, with the well spudded ahead 
of schedule.

Thistle/Deveron achieved year on year production growth 
of 14%. The Thistle life extension project itself made further 
progress in 2014 and a major industry award highlighted 
recognition of this project as a proven template for successfully 
extending the life of ageing assets. 

On exploration, the Avalon well was drilled faster than scheduled 
and was under budget, and the Cairngorm appraisal well yielded 
positive initial results. In the 28th licensing round EnQuest was 
awarded acreage it had applied for around its hubs.

At the end of 2014, EnQuest started the process for the return of 
32% of its interests in Crawford to the previous owner, following 
which EnQuest will hold a 19% working interest. 

Excellent HSE Performance RIFR & LTIFR*

RIFR EnQuest 

RIFR industry  average

LTIFR EnQuest 

LTIFR industry average

6

5

4

3

2

1

0

26

Jan 14

Feb 14 Mar 14 Apr 14 May 14 Jun 14

Jul 14 Aug 14 Sep 14 Oct 14 Nov 14 Dec 14

*Recordable Incident Frequency Rate & Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014 
NORTH SEA OPERATIONS
THISTLE/DEVERON

Thistle/Deveron Production (Boepd) 

2013

2014

5
2
9
7

,

5
2
0
9

,

2014 
Thistle delivered 14% production growth 
year on year, reflecting continuing benefit 
from new production wells brought 
onstream during the course of H2 2013 
and the programme of investment in the 
Thistle life extension project.

211/18a

THISTLE

211/18a

DEVERON

The A57 and A60 wells continued to outperform expectations 
with watercut rising slower than anticipated. The commissioning 
of the ‘D’ turbine on gas and the reinstatement of the refurbished 
‘B’ turbine gave improved power stability and improved water 
injection efficiency in the second half of the year. The second of two 
new cranes was fully installed and made operational in Q3 2014, 
reducing risk and operating expenditure. These elements of the life 
extension investment programme, alongside EnQuest’s focused 
operating strategy, have continued to improve production 
efficiency at Thistle. 

2015 and beyond
Drilling will restart at Thistle in 2015, with three new production 
wells being brought onstream, one in the middle of the year and 
two more in H2 2015. The Thistle life extension project will be 
mechanically complete during 2015, with full completion scheduled 
for 2016. A planned maintenance shutdown of the Sullom Voe 
Terminal (‘SVT’) will stop export from Thistle for three weeks at 
the end of H1 2015; EnQuest has scheduled its own maintenance 
programme for the same dates and will additionally use it for some 
extra life extension works.

Working interest at end 2014: 
 ` 99%

Decommissioning liabilities: 
 ` Remain with former owner

Fixed steel platform

Daily average net production:
 ` 2014: 9,025 Boepd
 ` 2013: 7,925 Boepd

27

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014 
NORTH SEA OPERATIONS
THE DON FIELDS

The Don Fields Production (Boepd)

2013

2014

4
1
0
1
1

,

5
3
8
8

,

2014 
Production efficiency remained 
very strong, at almost 90%, with high 
levels of water injection efficiency 
supporting production. 

Production from Area 22 of Don Southwest was boosted by a 
successful acid stimulation treatment on Well S2z and by the 
completion in August of a new production well. The new production 
well, TJ, delivered initial rates in line with expectations but 
production chemistry issues prevented successful gas lift, and 
medium term rates were below expectation. The acid stimulation 
and scale inhibition programme also benefited Don SW wells S11 
and S10Y. An upgrade of the water injection system is underway 
which will allow better operability and increased injection rates. On 
West Don, the W4 well suffered from scale build up and was shut-in 
in November awaiting a remedial acid treatment. Bad weather 
delayed this work into Q1 2015. In Q1 2014, EnQuest applied for 
and was offered an ‘out of round’ licence (P.2137) in the Don North 
East area for blocks 211/18e and 211/19c, including the Area 23 and 
Area 24 discovered oil accumulations and an undrilled extension to 
the Don North East field. The Area 24 discovery which lies adjacent 
to the Don Southwest field, progressed rapidly to development with 
the Field Development Plan, for the renamed ‘Ythan’ field approved 
by DECC and the first well spudded in November.

2015 and beyond
A phased development of the Ythan field is planned, with drilling 
operations on the first well continuing through Q1 2015 and first 
production from the field by mid-2015. The drilling of the Ythan AA 
injector well is planned for around the end of 2015. Following W4 
scale build up in winter it was brought back online in Q1 2015 and is 
performing well. The SVT shutdown will similarly be used for 
planned EnQuest maintenance on the Northern Producer.

During 2015, the natural rates of decline will reduce production. 

211/18a

211/18a

WEST
DON

CONRIE

211/18e

211/19c

DON
NE

DON
SW

YTHAN

Working interest at end 2014: 
 ` Don Southwest, 60%
 ` Conrie, 60%
 ` West Don, 63.45%
 ` Don North East, 60%

Decommissioning liabilities: 
 ` As per working interests 

Floating production unit with subsea wells

Daily average net production:
 ` 2014: 8,835 Boepd
 ` 2013: 11,014 Boepd

28

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014 
NORTH SEA OPERATIONS
HEATHER/BROOM

Heather/Broom Production (Boepd)

2013

2014

9
3
3
4

,

1
8
0
4

,

2014 
Production at Heather/Broom delivered 
4,081 Boepd in 2014. This was down 
slightly after a strong performance 
in 2013.

2/5a

3/1b

HEATHER

2/4a

BROOM

Following the completion of the 2013 rig reactivation project, rig 
operations in Q1 2014 commenced with a workover of the H56 well, 
which was brought onstream in May and has continued to deliver 
planned levels of oil production. This was followed by the sidetrack 
of shut-in well H44 as a new injection well in the B2 block. The H64 
injector was brought on in July, which resulted in an increase from 
the nearby producer, H62Y, over the following months. Crestal 
producer, H47, was sidetracked in place of the planned workover, 
and was brought onstream in November, delivering an initial rate 
significantly above expectation. New producer H66, a sidetrack of 
suspended well H48, was being drilled at year end. 

High levels of operational uptimes and a production efficiency of 
over 90% have been achieved and 136 consecutive days without any 
production interruptions were achieved in H2 2014. The Broom water 
injection flowline failed at the end of August; replacement options 
were assessed and a contract awarded for the design, procurement 
and installation of a replacement line.

2015 and beyond
Beyond the completion of the Heather H48 sidetrack as the H66 
production well, there will be no further drilling on Heather in 2015. 
Broom injection will be reinstated by the middle of 2015. The SVT 
shutdown will similarly be used for planned EnQuest maintenance 
on Heather/Broom. 

Working interest at end 2014: 
 ` Heather, 100%
 ` Broom, 63%

Decommissioning liabilities: 
 ` Heather, 37.5%
 ` Broom, 63%

Fixed steel platform

Daily average net production:
 ` 2014: 4,081 Boepd
 ` 2013: 4,339 Boepd

29

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014 
NORTH SEA OPERATIONS
GREATER KITTIWAKE AREA 
(‘GKA’)

Daily average net production:
 ` 2014: 1,281 Boepd

This is based on the net production since the acquisition 
at the start of March 2014, as averaged over the full year.

20/9 a

20/1 4

20/1 9

20/2 4

21/1 aS

21/1 b

21/6b
AVALON

20/15

21/11

21/8b

21/7a

21/8a

SCOLTY

21/12c

21/13a

21/14b

CRATHES

21/12a
GOOSANDER

21/16

21/17c

21/17a 21/18a

21/17b

KITTIWAKE

21/19b

21/20b

GROUSE
21/19c

GADWALL
21/19a

MALLARD

EAGLE

22/7 b

22/7 a

22/7 aF 1

22/6 sN

22/1 2b

22/1 2c

22/1 1a

22/1 2a

22/1 2aS

22/1 7b

22/1 7N

22/1 7S

22/1 7a

22/2 2d

22/2 2a

Acquisition completed in Q1 2014

Working interest 50% in each of:
 ` Kittiwake
 ` Grouse
 ` Mallard

 ` Gadwall
 ` Goosander

21/2 4a

22/2 1b

22/2 2b

Decommissioning liabilities:
 ` Kittiwake 25%
 ` Mallard 30.5% 

 ` Grouse, Gadwall and Goosander 50%

Fixed steel platform

100% interest in export pipeline from GKA to Forties 
Unity platform

Post acquisition programme in 2014 
EnQuest took over as the operator at 
the end of Q1 2014 with the duty holder 
remaining in place. The focus was on 
integrating GKA and delivering an early 
workover programme on Mallard, which 
has led to a near doubling of production. 

Next steps will include progressing the proposed Field 
Development Plan (‘FDP’) submission for the nearby Scolty/Crathes 
discoveries, with a tie-back to GKA with potential exploration of 
nearby prospects. 

The Mallard workover was successfully completed and was brought 
online at the end of Q3 2014, GKA production peaked at 7,300 
Boepd, shortly after. Following inspection and routine testing the 
existing tree was reinstalled, which reduced expenditure and allowed 
early production from Mallard. Since acquiring GKA, EnQuest has 
been applying its proven skills for managing mature fields. Improved 
operational efficiency and the benefit of the workover, has increased 
production from just over 2,500 Boepd gross in the first few months, 
to over 5,500 Boepd gross in October. The Mallard workover also 
facilitated the opportunity for an accelerated Gadwall workover. 
Production from Gadwall will be reinstated mid-2015, following the 
sidetracking of the existing well in H2 2014. The Grouse well now 
benefits from stable gas-lift supply. 

EnQuest made substantial improvements in operating efficiency, 
with opex per barrel significantly reduced from pre-acquisition 
levels. Front End Engineering Design (‘FEED’) studies were being 
completed on the proposed development of Scolty/Crathes. 

2015 and beyond
Goosander, Grouse and Mallard will all be online in 2015 and 
production from Gadwall is expected to be reinstated in mid-2015.

We are conducting studies on future development scenarios for 
Avalon, and have considered options for Avalon in FEED 
engineering on Scolty/Crathes. 

Further reductions in GKA unit opex are anticipated during 2015. 

30

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014NORTH SEA OPERATIONS
ALMA/GALIA

First oil expected in mid-2015
 ` Net peak production to be c.13,000 Boepd

2014 
At the end of 2014, the Alma/Galia 
development project was on track for 
first oil in mid-2015. 

Systems required for first oil were mechanically complete, with 
commissioning well underway. 

Control systems (marine, subsea, electronic submersible pumps) 
had been installed and commissioned. Five production wells were 
fully completed and ready for FPSO tie-in. The pre-first oil drilling 
programme for the production wells was successfully completed, 
with five wells meeting or exceeding expectations. The subsea 
infrastructure was in place, with risers and mooring systems 
wet-stored awaiting the arrival of the FPSO. 

2015 
In January the EnQuest Producer boilers were lit, one of the final 
steps ahead of completing onshore commissioning. The FPSO 
recently left the yard in Newcastle and has successfully completed 
marine performance trials in deeper water nearby, on schedule 
for first oil in the middle of the year. Oil tank commissioning is 
undertaken in the field, just ahead of commercial production coming 
onstream. Alma/Galia is on course for first oil in mid-2015. Five wells 
are now available to come onstream in mid-2015; a phased start up 
is planned, with one well coming onstream per week, for the first 
month. Drilling on the Galia production well is to be completed and 
tied in during H2 2015. 

30/24b

30/24c

30/25c

GALIA

ALMA

Working interest at end 2014: 
 ` 65% in both fields

Decommissioning liabilities: 
 ` As per working interest

Floating, production storage and offloading unit with 
subsea wells

31

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014NORTH SEA OPERATIONS
ALBA (NON-OPERATED)

OUR HYDROCARBON ASSETS
EnQuest’s asset base as at 31st December 2014  
(including 28th Round UK Licences awarded in early 2015)

Licence

Blocks

UNITED KINGDOM: 

Production & Development

Working 
Interest (%) Name

2014 
Field production was stable in 2014.

The Alba oil field is operated by Chevron. 

In 2014, operations included the drilling of two production wells, 
with the second well coming onstream in September 2014. A new 
4D seismic survey was also acquired, which is key for maturing future 
drilling targets. 

2015 and beyond
Infill drilling will continue in 2015, with a new production well (S11) 
and a water injection pipeline scheduled to be online in Q3 2015. 
There will be a planned maintenance shutdown for approximately 
three weeks in 2015. 

16/26a

ALBA

Working interest at end of 2014:
 ` 8%

Decommissioning liabilities: 
 ` As per working interest

Fixed steel platform
 ` 2014: 1,214 Boepd
 ` 2013: 922* Boepd 

P220, P250, P585

15/17n, 15/17a & 15/12b 60

P73

P2135

P236

P236

P236

P238

P242

P351

P475

P902

P1077

P1200

P1765

P1825

P2137

21/12a

16/26a

211/18a

211/18a

211/18b

21/19a & 19b

2/5

21/18a

21/19s

2/4a

9/2b

211/13b

30/24c & 25c

30/24b

211/18e & 19c

Discoveries

P2096 

9/28a

P1107

21/8a

P1214, P1892

16/2b, 16/3d

P1617

P2006

Other Licences

P90

P242

P1415

P1463

P1968

P1976

P1991

P1996

P2005

P2027

P2084

P2143

P21481

P21731

P2176

P21771

P22011

NORWAY

PL758

PL760

PL760 B2

PL8002

MALAYSIA

PM8/Seligi3

21/12c & 13a

21/6b

9/15a

2/5b

21/17a & 17c

14/30a

2/10a, 3/6a & 3/11c

8/5 & 9/1b

14/30c

28/2b & 3b

22/11b

21/17b

21/7a

3/1b

9/2c

20/15, 21/11 & 16

21/8b

21/14b, 19c & 20b

211/13c & 18/c

6508/1, 6608/10 & 
6608/11

6607/11 & 6607/12

6607/12

6508/1 &6508/2

PM8 Extension

50

99

63

60

63

65

65

60

19

40

45

40

50

33

55

50

20

100

60

40

100

50

100

50

100

60

50

100

50

60

35

50

50

35

50

70

50

8

99

60

63

50

Goosander

Alba

Thistle & Deveron

Don SW & Conrie

West Don

Grouse, Mallard, Gadwall

63 & 100

Broom & Heather

Kittiwake

Thistle

Broom

Kraken & Kraken North

West Don

Alma

Galia

Ythan

Crawford

Kildrummy

Scolty

Cairngorm

Crathes

Avalon

Seligi, North & South Raya, 
Lawang, Langat, Yong and 
Serudon

Tanjong Baram

*   Net production since the completion of the acquisition at the end of March 

2013, averaged over the full year.

Tanjong Baram 
SFRSC4

Tanjong Baram

SB307 & 308 PSC SB307 & SB3085

42.5

Notes
1.  P2148, P2173, P2177 & P2201 – 28th Licence Round awarded Q1 2015 
2.  PL760 B & PL800 – APA2014 licences awarded Q1 2015
3.  Official reference PM-8 Extension PSC
4.  Small Field Risk Service Contract. PETRONAS remains the asset owner
5.  Not operated 
6.   In 2014, EnQuest gave notice that it is reducing its working interest in Crawford 

to 19%, this is taking effect in H1 2015.

32

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014 
EnQuest Oil & Gas Reserves and Resources at 31 December 2014

 UKCS

Other Regions

Total

MMboe

MMboe

MMboe

MMboe

MMboe

Proven and Probable Reserves (notes 1, 2, 3 and 6)

At 1 January 2014

Revisions of previous estimates

Discoveries, extensions and additions (note 7)

Acquisitions (note 8)

Production:

  Export meter

  Volume adjustments (note 5)

Proven and Probable Reserves at 31 December 2014 (note 10)

(8.92)

0.14

Contingent Resources (notes 1, 2 and 4)

At 1 January 2014

Revisions of previous estimates 

Discoveries, extensions and additions 

Acquisitions (note 8)

Disposals (note 9)

Promoted to reserves (note 7)

Contingent Resources at 31 December 2014

Notes:
1  Reserves are quoted on a net entitlement basis, resources are quoted on a net 

working interest basis.

2  Proven and Probable Reserves and Contingent Resources have been assessed 

by the Group’s internal reservoir engineers, utilising geological, geophysical, 
engineering and financial data. 

3  The Group’s Proven and Probable Reserves are based on the report audited by 
a recognised Competent Person in accordance with the definitions set out 
under the 2007 Petroleum Resources Management System and supporting 
guidelines issued by the Society of Petroleum Engineers.

4  Contingent Resources relate to technically recoverable hydrocarbons for which 
commerciality has not yet been determined and are stated on a best technical 
case or ‘2C’ basis.

5  Correction of export to sales volumes.
6  All UKCS volumes are presented pre SVT value adjustment.
7  Contingent Resources previously allocated to Scolty/Crathes have been 

classified as reserves following development planning. Ythan resources have 
been classified as reserves due to the approval for development.
8  Seligi and PM8 assets in Malaysia were acquired in June 2014. Greater 

Kittiwake Area assets were acquired in March 2014. West and East Torphins, 
Avalon and Shelterstone acquired.

9  Cairngorm appraised and farmed down, Peik relinquished in January 2014 and 

Horizon West sold in November 2014.

10  The above Proven and Probable Reserves include 10.5 MMboe that will be 

consumed as lease fuel on the Kraken and Alma FPSOs.

11  The above table excludes Tanjong Baram in Malaysia.

194.76

5.33

7.25

6.21

(8.78)

204.76

117.00

6.12

2.53

20.61

(14.28)

(13.62)

118.36

–

–

–

–

(1.30)

–

–

–

–

16.54

194.76

5.33

7.25

22.75

(1.30)

15.24

(10.08)

220.00

4.40

121.40

–

–

52.27

(4.40)

–

6.12

2.53

72.88

(18.68)

(13.62)

52.27

170.63

ENQUEST VALUES
CREATIVITY

Creativity for me means being innovative and novel when 
tackling problems and that is why I enjoy working at EnQuest. 
I joined EnQuest not for a job, but to build a dynamic career in 
an entrepreneurial oil and gas producer. It is highly fulfilling to 
work with colleagues who are not only open to new ideas and 
methods but also ask all the right questions when facing 
unconventional challenges. 
DAWOOD AHMED, SOLICITOR

33

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014 
OPERATING REVIEW
ENQUEST THE OPERATOR 
MAJOR PROJECTS

KRAKEN CONTINUES ON SCHEDULE AND 
ON BUDGET FOR FIRST OIL IN 2017

Overview 
2014 was a year of significant progress 
for EnQuest’s Kraken development in 
the northern North Sea, with material 
advances across the key areas of the 
project; all key supplier contracts are in 
place on a fixed price, milestone basis. 

Richard Hall
Head of Major Projects

Kraken infrastructure

During 2014, the work that was required to prepare the 
donor tanker for conversion to FPSO was largely completed; 
hull and deck modifications began, alongside other workscopes, 
including accommodation upgrades and helideck fabrication. 
All the principal contracts have now been placed for individual 
modules, including the power, water injection and 
electrical units.

Kraken Gross Production Profile (Boepd)

North

Central

South

60,000

50,000

20,000

30,000

20,000

10,000

0

34

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014MAJOR PROJECTS
KRAKEN

First Oil expected 2017
 ` Net peak production to be c.30,000 Boepd

9/2b

9/2c

9/2d

KRAKEN
NORTH

WESTERN
FEATURE

KRAKEN

Working interest at end 2014: 
 ` 60%

Decommissioning liabilities: 
 ` As per working interest

Floating Production Storage and Offloading unit with 
subsea wells

2014 
During 2014, the Kraken project 
progressed well, on budget and 
on schedule. 

In Q2 2014, the FPSO donor vessel arrived at the shipyard in 
Singapore for the conversion scope to commence. The programme 
of conversion work continued throughout the rest of the year. 
The initial focus was on the hull conversion and the marine system 
refurbishment. Fabrication progressed for key elements of the 
FPSO, including the topside modules, accommodation and 
the helideck.

In H2 2014, EnQuest conducted the installation of two integrated 
templates (subsea structures) at the first drill centre, where the initial 
wells for the development will be drilled. A survey vessel successfully 
completed coring work at the FPSO mooring anchor locations. 
Delivery of the hydraulic submersible pumps (‘HSP’) used to provide 
the artificial lift commenced in Q3 2014. Detailed engineering, 
procurement and manufacture for all equipment relating to wells, 
subsea infrastructure and the FPSO continued throughout 2014.

Further appraisal drilling was undertaken to the west of the Kraken 
field in H2 2014, to assess potential there.

2015 and beyond 
The Kraken programme for 2015 includes the installation of subsea 
hardware, including the manifolds for the first drill centre which 
connect to the templates already installed and two templates for the 
second drill centre and six subsea trees. The mooring system for the 
FPSO and the batch drilling programme will also commence. 

The drilling of an appraisal well and sidetrack to the west of the 
Kraken Field has confirmed the presence of oil. Preliminary analysis 
indicates that the primary well (Tyrone) found oil bearing reservoir 
with a net vertical thickness of approximately 25 feet. The sidetrack 
(Tiree) also confirmed oil bearing reservoir, with net vertical 
thickness of approximately 83 feet. Further evaluation is ongoing. 

The new drilling rig is expected on location at Kraken by Q3 2015, 
to commence the Kraken batch drilling programme.

The FPSO programme also continues, with a dry docking scheduled 
to install the FPSO turret by the end of Q1 2015.

35

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014 
OPERATING REVIEW
ENQUEST THE OPERATOR 
INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS

PM8/Seligi

Our Production Sharing Contract (‘PSC’) 
for PM8/Seligi in Malaysia includes the 
Seligi oil field, once the largest oil field off 
Peninsular Malaysia. PM8/Seligi combined 
has over 200 wells. 

Faysal Hamza
Head of International

This is a substantial opportunity for EnQuest to replicate the 
success of its strategy on Thistle, potentially on a considerably 
larger scale, significantly increasing production, extending PM8/
Seligi’s field life and increasing reserves. 

PM8/Seligi has already materially increased EnQuest’s overall 
production levels and by Q4 2014, the new fields were producing 
approximately 15,000 Boepd gross. Having taken over 
operatorship, EnQuest is focused on an ongoing programme to 
target efficiency improvements and to maximise recovery.

Tanjong Baram infrastructure

36

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS
PM8/SELIGI

TANJONG BARAM

2014
EnQuest assumed offshore field operations in October, while the 
overall transition completed in December 2014. Production from the 
fields has been strong and continues to increase. Going forward, 
EnQuest intends to enhance production through well interventions, 
facilities rectification and upgrades, and subsurface programmes 
that will lead to new wells. 

2015 and beyond
The work programme is focused on well interventions and 
improving the field infrastructure, including gas compressors, power 
generators and ongoing integrity management of topside facilities 
and pipelines. 

2014
In March 2014, EnQuest signed a Small Field Risk Service Contract 
with PETRONAS for the development of the Tanjong Baram field, 
offshore Sarawak. Tanjong Baram is being developed as an 
unmanned platform with production tied back to the Petronas 
Carigali operated West Lutong A complex. The development plan 
is based on a two well programme, with capacity for one additional 
well in the facilities design. Work on the development of the project 
is proceeding according to plan. 

2015 and beyond
Development of the field is underway, with first oil targeted by end 
of H1 2015, to be followed by steady state operations.

LAWANG

SERUDON

LANGAT

YONG

NORTH RAYA

SOUTH RAYA

PM8

South China Sea

2 4 0   k m

MALAYSIA

SELIGI

THAILAND

Malacca
Strait

SINGAPORE

SUMATRA

Working interest at end 2014: 
 ` 50%

Decommissioning liabilities: 
 ` PM8, 50%
 ` Seligi, 50% of partial liability allocated based on ratio of 
remaining oil reserves to estimated ultimate recovery

In addition to the main production platform and separate 
gas compression platform, there are eleven minimum 
facility satellite platforms tied back to the main platform

Daily average net production:
 ` 2014: 3,459 Boepd (working interest)
 ` 2014: 2,078 Boepd (entitlement)
 ` Reflects net production from end of June 2014 to December 

2014, averaged over the full year.

SABAH
(MALAYSIA)

SK307

BRUNEI

SARAWAK
(MALAYSIA)

INDONESIA

TANJONG
BARAM

SK307

BRUNEI

MIRI

SARAWAK

Working interest at end 2014: 
 ` 70%

Decommissioning liabilities:
 ` None

37

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014STRATEGIC REPORT
FINANCIAL REVIEW 

Financial Overview
In the year ended 31 December 2014, the Brent crude oil price 
averaged $98.9 per barrel compared to $108.7 per barrel for 2013. 
Total production volumes were 15% higher for the year ended 
31 December 2014 which resulted in revenue of $1,009.9 million 
compared with $961.2 million in 2013.

Profit from operations before tax and 
finance income/(costs)
Depletion and depreciation
Intangible impairments and write-offs
Net foreign exchange (gains)/losses 

EBITDA

Business performance

2014
$ million

2013
$ million

362.5
245.1
0.6
(27.2)

581.0

374.8
224.0
2.0
20.5

621.3

EBITDA for the year ended 31 December 2014 was $581.0 million 
compared with $621.3 million in 2013. The lower EBITDA is mainly 
due to lower oil prices in H2 2014 and higher tariff and 
transportation costs.

In H1 2014 the Group successfully raised a $650 million high 
yield bond. The eight year bond further diversified the Company’s 
capital base and gives long term maturities for its debt profile. At 
the year end $217.6 million was drawn on the $1.2 billion Revolving 
Credit Facility (RCF) before taking into account cash balances of 
$176.8 million. In addition, during the year, the Group also entered 
a £31.8 million two year development loan facility to finance the 
construction of the Group’s Aberdeen office building.

Following receipt of the bond proceeds EnQuest entered into a 
number of foreign exchange transactions to swap $550 million of 
the US Dollar proceeds into Sterling to enable it to repay Sterling 
drawings under the RCF. The transactions required EnQuest to swap 
Sterling back into US Dollars between October and December 2014 
at a fixed rate. In early October 2014 the transactions were closed 
out realising a gain of $46.7 million. 

Bond1
Multi-currency revolving credit facility1
Property loan1
Cash and cash equivalents

Net debt/(cash) 

2014 
$ million

882.6
193.5
33.5
(176.8)

932.8

2013 
$ million

254.5
199.4
–
(72.8)

381.1

1  Stated excluding accrued interest and net of unamortised fees.

The Group has delivered a strong 
operational performance in 2014 against a 
backdrop of falling oil prices and general 
industry cost pressures. Significant capital 
investment in growth projects continued 
throughout the year. 

Jonathan Swinney 
Chief Financial Officer 

38

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014Through these facilities, EnQuest has a diversified and long term 
funding base providing financing for current projects.

As a result of the continued capital investment, UK corporate 
tax losses at the end of the year increased to approximately $1,818 
million. The effective tax rate for the year excluding exceptional 
items is 43.5% which reflects the blend of UK and international 
assets. In the current environment, no material corporation tax or 
supplementary corporation tax is expected to be paid on UK 
operational activities before 2025. The Group paid cash corporate 
income tax on assets acquired in Malaysia and this is expected to 
continue throughout the life of the production sharing contract (PSC).

The Group’s operating costs comprise production costs and tariff 
and transportation costs which were $436.5 million for the year 
ended 31 December 2014 compared with $308.0 million in 2013. 
Transportation costs increased from $73.5 million to $140.0 million 
for the year ended 31 December 2014 mainly due to significantly 
higher unit costs per barrel at SVT. Production costs increased by 
$61.7 million to $296.2 million for the year ended 31 December 
2014, partly attributable to the acquisition of the GKA asset on 
1 March 2014 and the PM8/Seligi Malaysian asset acquired at the 
end of June. In the other producing assets, higher costs in Thistle 
and Heather related to diesel usage and increased logistics and 
maintenance costs.

Income Statement
Production and revenue
Production levels, on a working interest basis, for the year ended 
31 December 2014 averaged 27,895 Boepd compared with 24,222 
Boepd in 2013. The increase reflects a substantial initial contribution 
from PM8/Seligi in Malaysia, higher production in the Thistle field 
which has been experiencing high production efficiency and ten 
months of production from the newly acquired Greater Kittiwake 
Area (GKA) assets. This was partially offset by the expected natural 
decline in the Don fields.

The Group’s blended average realised price per barrel of oil sold 
was $100.6 for the year ended 31 December 2014, below the $109.7 
per barrel received for 2013, reflecting the decline in the oil price in 
Q4 2014. Revenue is predominantly derived from crude oil sales and 
for the year ended 31 December 2014 crude oil sales totalled $970.5 
million compared with $953.8 million in 2013. The increase in 
revenue was due to the higher production and an overlift of $8.2 
million in 2014 compared with an overlift of $2.6 million in 2013 and 
partly offset by a reduction in the oil price. Within revenue in 2014 
there is $31.7 million of realised income relating to oil commodity 
hedges and call options.

Operating costs
Cost of sales comprises cost of operations, tariff and transportation 
expenses, change in lifting position, inventory movement, derivative 
and foreign exchange hedging movements and depletion of oil and 
gas assets. Cost of sales for the Group (pre-exceptionals and 
depletion of fair value adjustments) were as follows:

Cost of sales

Unit operating cost, adjusted for over/
underlift and inventory movements 
(per barrel):
  –Production costs
  –Tariff and Transportation costs

  –Operating costs
  –Depletion of oil and gas properties

Reported 
year ended 31 
December 2014 
$ million

Reported 
year ended 31 
December 2013 
$ million

654.1

$

526.3

$

31.5
10.6

42.1
24.6

66.7

27.2
8.3

35.5
24.6

60.1

Cost of sales pre-exceptionals and depletion of fair value 
adjustments was $654.1 million for the year ended 31 December 
2014 compared with $526.3 million in 2013. An increase of $85.3 
million was due to costs relating to the GKA and PM8/Seligi 
acquisitions and an increase of $34.0 million was due to increased 
transportation costs. The significant increase in the latter was partly 
due to increased volumes, but mainly due to an increase in the costs 
per barrel at the Sullom Voe Terminal (SVT). This has been partially 
offset by an overall gain relating to the bond proceeds currency 
transactions and realised mark to market valuations on foreign 
exchange trades. 

There has been a significant increase in SVT tariff costs. Costs are 
$28.9 million higher than the prior year due to a higher base level 
of costs incurred by the operator and also EnQuest being allocated 
a higher proportion of SVT costs in 2014. This reflects EnQuest’s 
increased production and therefore higher share of throughput at 
SVT. In addition, the exceptional items include a charge of $32.8 
million in respect of 2012 and 2013 costs which were only notified 
to EnQuest by the operator in 2014. Working collaboratively with 
the SVT operator and co-owners, gross costs are expected to be 
reduced going forward and also a lower proportion of these will 
accrue to EnQuest. The project to define the medium to long term 
future is maturing in its definition and we expect the SVT operator 
to define the project fully in 2015. Finally, the unit operating cost per 
barrel has been adjusted for a 40% allocation of the gain from the 
bond proceeds currency transactions, which reflects the 
approximate ratio of operational expenditure to capital expenditure 
for the year.

Due to the above factors, the Group’s average unit production and 
transportation cost has increased by $6.6 per barrel.

The Group’s depletion expense per barrel for the year is consistent 
with the previous year with a higher rate in Heather and Thistle as a 
consequence of a higher capex profile offset by lower production in 
the Don fields.

The Group’s change in lifting position was an $8.2 million expense 
for the year ended 31 December 2014, compared with an expense 
of $2.6 million in 2013. The net overlift during 2014 has increased 
mainly due to the UK operated assets being in an overlift position 
offset with an underlift in Alba and Malaysia.

Exploration and evaluation expenses
Exploration and evaluation expenses were $4.0 million in the 
year compared with $8.6 million reported in the previous year. The 
expenses in 2014 primarily relate to South West Heather, Norway’s 
pre-licence costs and costs relating to the 28th Licence Round in 
the UK.

General and administrative expenses 
General and administrative expenses were $16.5 million in the year 
ended 31 December 2014 compared with $25.0 million reported in 
the previous year. A reduction in business development specific costs 
and higher Parent Company Overhead (PCO) recovery accounts for 
the majority of the movement.

Other income and expenses
Other income is comprised of net foreign exchange gains 
of $27.2 million in the year ended 31 December 2014 relating 
to exchange rate fluctuations relating to the retail bond and 
bank loans.

Taxation 
The tax charge for the year of $105.8 million, excluding exceptional 
items, represents an effective tax rate of 43.5% compared with 43% 
in the previous year. The small increase in the Group’s effective tax 
rate for the year is due primarily to foreign exchange losses relieved 
at the mainstream tax rate, partly offset by an increase in the Ring 
Fence Expenditure Supplement on UK activities. 

39

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014 
Cash flow and liquidity
The Group’s reported cash generated from operations in 2014 was 
$637.1 million compared with $562.7 million in 2013. The reported 
cash flow from operations per share was 82.3 cents per share 
compared with 72.3 cents per share in 2013. The increase is mainly 
due to a decrease in trade receivables and joint venture debtors, an 
increase in trade payables, accrued payables and a decrease in the 
opening underlift position. 

During the year ended 31 December 2014, $2.1 million was received 
in relation to an exploration refund for EnQuest Norge AS’s activities 
in Norway. In addition, $7.9 million was paid during the year ended 
31 December 2014 in relation to EnQuest Group’s UK tax liabilities 
for non-operational activities and petroleum revenue tax (PRT). $6.6 
million was paid in relation to the Group’s operations in Malaysia. 

It is anticipated that the underlying effective tax rate for 2015 will be 
materially below the UK statutory tax rate of 60%, excluding one-off 
exceptional tax items, mainly due to the impact of Ring Fence 
Expenditure Supplement. In the current environment and with the 
investment in the North Sea, the Group does not expect a material 
cash outflow for UK corporation tax on operational activities before 
2025. This is due to the projected level of capital expenditure, which 
benefits from tax deductible first year capital allowances in the UK, 
available field allowances and accumulated tax losses which are largely 
attributable to the Group’s capital investment programme to date. 

Cash outflow on capital expenditure is set out in the table below:

Expenditure on producing oil and 
gas assets
Development expenditure
Exploration and evaluation capital 
expenditure
Other capital expenditure

2014
$ million

2013
$ million

318.0
628.1

69.7
44.5

1,060.3

294.5
632.0

36.6
21.2

984.3

Significant projects were undertaken during the year, including:

 ` the Alma/Galia development including spending on the FPSO 

and further drilling of the production wells;

 ` the Kraken development;
 ` the Thistle life extension programme;
 ` the Dons drilling programme on the TJ production well and the 

scale dissolver programme at Don Southwest;

 ` Ythan JT well; 
 ` the acquisition of GKA and successful workover of Mallard;
 ` the Heather/Broom drilling programme was completed and 

drilling programmes on H44, H47 and H56; and

 ` PM8/Seligi acquisition.

Net debt at 31 December 2014 amounted to $932.8 million 
compared with net debt of $381.1 million in 2013.

In H1 2014, the Group successfully issued a $650 million high yield 
bond, with a 7% coupon and a 2022 maturity.

In 2015, the Group renegotiated financial covenants under its RCF to 
provide greater flexibility for its capital investment programme. The 
net debt/EBITDA covenant has been increased to five times and the 
ratio of financial charges to EBITDA has been reduced to three 
times, both until mid-2017. Compliance with ongoing covenants 
continues to be a priority for the Group.

STRATEGIC REPORT
FINANCIAL REVIEW 
CONTINUED

Exceptional items and depletion of fair value uplift 
Exceptional losses totalling $821.9 million before tax have been 
disclosed separately in the year ended 31 December 2014. Tangible 
oil and gas assets have been impaired by $678.8 million relating to 
the Don fields and Alma/Galia. The impairment is primarily due to 
the significant fall in the oil price in the latter part of 2014. 

Exceptional items also includes an impairment of $152.0 million 
to intangible costs for the year ended 31 December 2014. The 
majority of the costs relate to the Crawford, Porter, Kildrummy and 
Cairngorm licences and some GKA acreage in the UK. In current 
market conditions some of these interests do not merit sufficient 
funds to progress them to economic development. The impairment 
also includes costs on the unsuccessful exploration well in the 
SB307/308 block in Malaysia.

The remaining balance is made up of SVT costs of $32.8 million 
invoiced by the operator in 2014, but relating to 2012 and 2013 
production, $6.9 million of depletion on the fair value uplift on 
acquisitions and $19.2 million unrealised mark to market losses on 
derivative contracts offset by negative goodwill of $28.6 million 
relating to the acquisition of PM8/Seligi in Malaysia.

The tax impact of the exceptional items is a tax credit of $508.1 
million, resulting in an overall tax credit for the year of $402.3 million 
and an overall effective tax rate of 69.5%.

Finance costs
Finance costs of $121.1 million include $52.1 million of bond 
and loan interest payable, $12.1 million unwinding of discount on 
decommissioning provisions and $41.4 million relating to the time value 
of the closed out puts. Other financial expenses of $18.5 million are 
primarily commitment and letter of credit fees of $11.6 million as well as 
arrangement fee amortisation relating to the bank facilities and bonds 
of $6.8 million. The Group capitalised interest of $3.2 million for the 
year ended 31 December 2014 in relation to the interest payable on 
borrowing costs on its capital development projects.

Finance income
Finance income of $1.8 million includes $0.3 million of bank 
interest receivable, $0.4 million VAT interest received and $0.9 million 
unwinding on the financial asset created in 2012 as part of the 
consideration for the farm out of the Alma/Galia development to 
KUFPEC.

Earnings per share
The Group’s reported basic earnings per share was (22.8) cents for the 
year ended 31 December 2014 compared with 24.4 cents in 2013. The 
decrease of 47.2 cents was attributable to higher operating, finance 
and exceptional impairment costs offset slightly by a lower tax charge 
for 2014. The Group’s reported diluted earnings per share excluding 
exceptional items was 17.8 cents for the year ended 31 December 
2014 compared with 24.0 cents in 2013. The decrease of 6.2 cents 
was mainly attributable to lower gross profit and higher finance costs 
offset by a lower effective income tax rate. 

40

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014Balance Sheet
The Group’s total asset value has increased by $545.4 million to 
$4,095.9 million at 31 December 2014 (2013: $3,550.5 million).

Property, plant and equipment
Property, plant and equipment (PP&E) has increased to $3,116.4 
million at 31 December 2014 from $2,871.2 million at 31 December 
2013. The increase of $245.2 million is mainly due to oil and gas 
asset capital additions of $839.5 million. The main spend relates 
to Kraken ($112.7 million) and Alma/Galia ($415.8 million). There 
was also $82.1 million in relation to changes in estimates on the 
decommissioning provisions and $206.1 million of acquisition costs 
mainly relating to GKA ($55.0 million) and Malaysia ($150.9 million). 
Depletion and depreciation charges of $252.0 million were incurred 
as well as an impairment charge of $678.8 million.

The oil and gas asset capital additions, including carry 
arrangements, during the year are set out in the table below:

Dons hub
Thistle hub
Heather and Broom hub
Alma/Galia
Kraken
Alba
GKA
PM8/Seligi
Tanjong Baram
Other 

2014 
$ million

53.1
79.8
96.4
415.8
112.7
4.5
95.7
160.8
22.1
4.8

1,045.7

On 1 March 2014, EnQuest completed the acquisition of the GKA 
assets including an interest in the Kittiwake to Forties oil export 
pipeline. In June 2014, EnQuest completed the acquisition of the 
Seligi oil field and the PM8 PSC, located offshore Malaysia. 

Intangible oil and gas assets
Intangible oil and gas assets decreased by $65.2 million to 
$65.7 million at 31 December 2014. The decrease mainly relates to 
impairments on the Crawford, Porter, Kildrummy and Cairngorm 
licenses and some GKA acreage in the UK.

Investments
The Group holds an investment of 160,903,958 new ordinary shares 
in Ascent Resources plc which is valued at $0.7 million based on the 
quoted bid price as at 31 December 2014.

Inventory
Inventory increased by $42.6 million, the increase relates to the 
purchase of xmas trees of $22.0 million and drilling and operational 
inventory.

Trade and other receivables
Trade and other receivables have increased by $19.0 million to 
$286.2 million at 31 December 2014 compared with $267.2 million 
in 2013. Prepayments and accrued income include the initial 
payment of $100 million to Armada Kraken PTE Limited for the lease 
of an FPSO vessel for the Kraken field. Trade receivables and joint 
venture receivables have both decreased in line with normal 
business activity. 

Cash and bank
The Group had $176.8 million of cash and cash equivalents at 
31 December 2014 and $217.6 million was drawn down on the 
$1.2 billion RCF.

Provisions
The Group’s decommissioning provision increased by $221.3 million 
to $449.7 million at 31 December 2014 (2013: $228.4 million). The 
acquisition of GKA and PM8/Seligi have an associated provision of 
$124.3 million. EnQuest has a 50% interest in the GKA area, but is 
only responsible for approximately 25% of the decommissioning 
liability for the platform. The decommissioning provision for GKA 
is $77.6 million. For the PM8 PSC, EnQuest’s estimated share of the 
decommissioning provision is approximately $46.7 million, for which 
the PSC contractors are required to make annual cost recoverable 
contributions into a sinking fund based on a pro-rata production basis. 

The Group has re-evaluated the discount rate to be used when 
discounting the Group’s decommissioning liabilities. The liability 
is discounted at 3% (2013: 5%) and this is included as a change in 
estimate, resulting in an increase of $77.4 million. The underlying 
costs for the UK assets remain consistent with the third party report 
that was commissioned in 2013 to complete the detailed triennial 
study to review decommissioning cost estimates for the operated 
producing hubs. 

The Group acquired 40% of the Kraken field from Nautical 
Petroleum plc and First Oil plc in 2012 through payment of the 
development costs (other than operator costs) incurred from 
1 January 2012 in respect of the development programme for the 
Kraken discovery which would otherwise have been payable by 
those partners.

A provision was initially recognised in 2013 for the contingent 
carry (additional consideration) which is dependent on a reserves 
determination. The reserves determination would be triggered by the 
carried parties, based on drilling work or, if later, the date on which 
the ‘firm’ carry expires. The contingent carry is pro-rated between 
100–166 million barrels of 2P reserves. The field development plan 
which was approved in November 2013, stated 137 million barrels. 
This would give rise to a contingent carry of approximately $80 
million which is included as a provision. The carry is estimated to 
be paid 12 months after the ‘firm’ consideration has expired in 
early 2015.

Income tax
The Group had no UK corporation tax or supplementary corporation 
tax liability at 31 December 2014, which remains unchanged from the 
prior year. The Group had PRT recoverable of $4.4m at 31 December 
2014 compared with a $4.0 million liability at 31 December 2013. The 
decrease is due to over paid PRT instalments on Alba in the second 
half of 2014. The income tax asset at 31 December 2014 represents 
the expected refund on exploration activities undertaken in Norway, 
a pre-acquisition corporate income tax overpayment in Malaysia and 
the expected PRT refund.

Deferred tax liability
The Group’s deferred tax liability (net of deferred tax assets) has 
decreased by $283.7 million to $462.6 million at 31 December 2014 
from $746.3 million in 2013. The decrease is mainly due to the 
impairment charge, partly offset by the capital expenditure 
programme undertaken by the Group during the year which provides 
the Group with 100% first year capital allowance claims as well as an 
increase in ring fence taxation losses carried forward and deferred tax 
liabilities arising on the acquisition of assets in Malaysia. Total UK tax 
losses carried forward at the year end amount to approximately 
$1,818.2 million. 

Trade and other payables
Trade and other payables have increased to $429.1 million at 
31 December 2014 from $363.3 million at 31 December 2013. 
The increase of $65.8 million is mainly due to an increase in trade 
payables of $57.8 million in line with increased activity in the year 
and an increase in the overlift position of $13.1 million. 

41

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014 
EnQuest’s functional currency is US Dollars. Foreign currency risk 
arises on purchases and the translation of assets and liabilities 
denominated in currencies other than US Dollars. To mitigate the 
risks of large fluctuations in the currency markets, the hedging 
policy agreed by the Board allows for up to 70% of the non-US 
Dollar portion of the Group’s annual capital budget and operating 
expenditure to be hedged. For specific contracted capital 
expenditure projects, up to 100% can be hedged. During the first 
half of 2013, the Group entered into a structured product to hedge 
a portion of its Sterling, and Norwegian Krone (NOK) exposure 
throughout 2013 and 2014. During 2014, a total of £182 million of 
Sterling exposure was hedged using this structured product with an 
average strike price of $1.46:£1. If the spot rate at expiry of the 
contracts was above $1.64:£1 then there was no trade and the 
Group funded its Sterling requirement through the spot market or 
drew Sterling on the bank facility. Between $1.64:£1 and $1.33:£1, 
EnQuest traded at the lower of $1.46:£1 and the spot rate, and 
below $1.33:£1, EnQuest traded a higher volume of currency at 
$1.46:£1. 

The same structure was also used to hedge the Group’s Norwegian 
Krone exposure arising as part of the Kraken development project. 
In 2014, a total of NOK367 million was hedged.

During 2014 the Company entered into several foreign exchange 
swap contracts when Sterling was trading above $1.66:£1. The 
realised impact of $46.7 million has been recognised in the income 
statement within cost of sales.

EnQuest continually reviews its currency exposures and when 
appropriate looks at opportunities to enter into foreign exchange 
hedging contracts.

Surplus cash balances are deposited as cash collateral against 
in-place letters of credit as a way of reducing interest costs. 
Otherwise cash balances can be invested in short term bank 
deposits and AAA-rated liquidity funds, subject to Board approved 
limits and with a view to minimising counterparty credit risks.

Going Concern
The Group closely monitors and manages its liquidity risk 
throughout the year, including monitoring forecast covenant results. 
Cash forecasts are regularly produced and sensitivities considered 
for, but not limited to, changes in crude oil prices (adjusted for 
hedging undertaken by the Group), production rates and 
development project timing and costs. These forecasts and 
sensitivity analyses allow management to mitigate any liquidity 
or covenant compliance risks in a timely manner.

Following the significant decline in oil prices, management has 
taken action to implement certain cost saving programmes, to 
reduce planned operational expenditure, general and administrative 
spend and capital expenditure in 2015 and 2016. Management also 
successfully renegotiated certain covenants contained within the 
Revolving Credit Facility. 

STRATEGIC REPORT
FINANCIAL REVIEW 
CONTINUED

Other financial liabilities
Other current financial liabilities have decreased by $68.4 million to 
$101.5 million. The decrease relates to the Kraken ‘firm’ carry which 
has reduced throughout the year, amounting to $99.0 million. This is 
offset by an increase relating to commodity forward contracts and 
forward foreign currency contracts of $29.6 million.

Other non-current financial liabilities have increased by $22.9 
million. The balance is made up of commodity forward contracts of 
$18.0 million that expire in 2016 and $5.7 million relating to a carry 
liability with respect to PM8. 

Financial Risk Management
The Group is exposed to the impact of changes in Brent crude oil 
prices on its revenue and profits. EnQuest’s policy is to manage the 
impact of commodity prices and during 2013 the Company entered 
into commodity hedging contracts to hedge partially the exposure to 
fluctuations in the Brent oil price during 2014. A total of 3.6 million 
barrels of puts (300,000 barrels per month) were bought at a price of 
$106 per barrel and 7.2 million barrels of calls were sold at a price of 
$106 per barrel, which would only be triggered if the monthly average 
price of Brent exceeded a fixed price for the given month (ranging 
from $119 to $124 per barrel).

During Q1 2014, the Company swapped an additional 1 million 
barrels at prices of approximately $109/bbl. An additional 1 million 
barrels were swapped in Q2 at a price of $105/bbl.

In Q4 2014, the Company bought puts covering 8 million barrels to 
hedge 2015 production at an average price of $87.3/bbl. In addition, 
the Company sold calls covering 8 million barrels maturing in 2015 
and 7.5 million barrels maturing in 2016. The put position was closed 
in Q4 2014, with the Company purchasing new puts covering 10 
million barrels of 2015 production priced at $65/bbl and selling a 
further 2.25 million barrels of 2015 calls. In return, for closing out the 
$87.3/bbl puts and purchasing the lower priced puts and selling the 
additional calls, the Company received cash of $100 million. Gains 
of $119.1 million in respect of the 8 million barrels of puts closed in 
December, which were designated as hedges of 2015 production, 
have been deferred in equity, and will be recognised during 2015.

After the year end the Group hedged 10 million barrels of 
production for 2016, through the purchase of puts with an average 
strike price of $68.2/bbl on a pro-rata basis throughout 2016. In 
addition, the Group sold further calls maturing in mid-2015 and 
through 2016. In total, as at the date of this report, the Group has 
sold 11.8 million barrels of 2015 calls with an average strike price of 
$80.55/bbl, and 13.5 million barrels of 2016 calls with an average 
strike price of $88.53/bbl. 

The total premiums received or receivable through the sale of calls 
to date totals $115.0 million. This premium will be realised in the 
income statement over the life of the options. In total $6.8 million 
was realised in 2014, with a further $82.4 million and $25.8 million to 
be realised in 2015 and 2016 respectively. Unrealised mark to market 
movements in these options will be recognised as an exceptional 
item in line with the Company’s accounting policy.

42

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014 
At year end, the Group had significant headroom on its borrowing 
facilities and related financial covenants under both the Revolving 
Credit Facility and the Retail Bond. The Group’s forecasts and 
projections take into account the actions described in the 
preceding paragraph, and reflect the assumption that the Group’s 
major projects remain on track. These forecasts indicate that the 
Company will be able to operate within the requirements of its 
existing borrowing facilities for 12 months from the date of approval 
of the Annual Report and Accounts. Forecasts therefore indicate 
that the Group’s liquidity will remain strong. 

Furthermore, if there were further sustained falls in the oil price 
or the benefits of planned initiatives are not realised, management 
has a number of options available to it to maintain strong liquidity, 
including asset sales, new financings or amendment of covenants 
under the existing financing arrangements (including the Retail 
Bond) and may do so as a precautionary measure should it 
determine that it is appropriate or prudent to do so. The Directors 
therefore continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing 
the financial statements. 

Key Performance Indicators 

Lost Time Incident Frequency (LTIF)

2P reserves (MMboe)

Business performance data:

Production (Boepd)

Revenue ($ million)

Realised blended average oil price per barrel ($)

Opex per barrel (production and transportation costs) ($)

Gross profit excluding exceptional items ($ million)

Cash capex on property, plant and equipment oil and gas assets ($ million)

Reported data:

Cash generated from operations ($ million)

Net debt ($ million)

Profit before tax excluding exceptional items ($ million)

Basic earnings per share (cents)

EBITDA ($ million)

2014

0.00

2013

1.36

220.0

194.8

27,895

1,009.9

100.6

42.1

355.8

1,060.3

637.1

(932.8)

243.3

(22.8)

581.0

24,222

961.2

109.7

35.5

434.9

984.3

562.7

(381.1)

338.0

24.4

621.3

43

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014STRATEGIC REPORT
CORPORATE 
RESPONSIBILITY 
REVIEW

During 2014 the Company conducted 
a review of its approach to Corporate 
Responsibility and has approved an 
approach which improves transparency.

The main areas of focus are Health and 
Safety, People, the Environment, Business 
Conduct and Society, each with its own 
policy framework. EnQuest’s website has 
been modified to reflect this approach. 

EnQuest recorded its best overall HSE 
performance since the business was 
formed in 2010.

John Atkinson
Head of Health, Safety, Environment & Assurance (‘HSE&A’)

44

Health & Safety and Environment: Focus on safety culture 
and practices
Over the year, we achieved a Lost-Time Incident Frequency Rate 
(‘LTIFR’) of zero and a Recordable Incident Frequency Rate (‘RIFR’) 
below the industry average. There were no high-potential incidents 
(‘HIPO’s): the last recorded HIPO was in April 2013.

In addition, we recorded a total of 11 years without a Lost-Time 
Incident (‘LTI’) and 11 million man hours LTI-free across our 
producing northern North Sea assets. Health and Safety Executive 
inspections were performed on all these assets, and no major issues 
were identified.

Our 2014 performance was primarily due to an even greater 
focus upon our safety culture and practices by our leadership 
team and senior operations personnel, augmented by an ongoing 
commitment to our continuous improvement plan by people 
across the organisation.

In practical terms, three groups of managers and supervisors 
completed Major Accident Hazard (‘MAH’) training at the 
Spadeadam test facility in Cumbria during the year. The courses 
extended this key area of training further into the business: a similar 
exercise was undertaken by the leadership team in 2013. This 
programme connects closely to Operations Excellence, which 
defines EnQuest’s unique way of working and has the control of 
MAHs as one of its three key themes. 

The same theme was also reflected in a detailed review undertaken 
in 2014 of the hydrocarbon release prevention plans that are in 
place for individual assets.

Other prominent areas of activity included the provision of 
support to ready the EnQuest Producer for the start of operations 
at Alma/Galia in 2015 – ensuring the formation of a complete, 
fit-for-purpose HSE&A framework for the asset – and detailed 
preparatory work ahead of the future introduction of a new 
simplified and standardised Control of Work regime. 

A comprehensive review of the safety case for our Thistle asset was 
completed, to ensure it remains fully up-to-date and relevant. The 
safety cases for all assets are updated routinely, but each is the 
subject of a five-yearly review. Safety representatives played a key 
role in the Thistle review, as they do in all such exercises.

We moved to a single waste management contractor arrangement 
in 2014. This will help the business pursue its goal of reducing the 
levels of waste consigned to landfill while improving efficiency.

In Malaysia, an HSE Manager was appointed to lead the 
establishment and consolidation of an appropriate infrastructure 
that’s fully aligned with the country’s regulatory environment as well 
as EnQuest’s own policies and principles in this key area. A close 
working relationship has been created between our Malaysian 
operations and the UK to support this key process.

People: Challenging economic conditions
One of the key challenges for the Human Resources (‘HR’) function 
lay in managing costs as efficiently as possible within increasingly 
difficult economic conditions during the latter part of the year.

At the same time, the business benefited from a series of 
programmes that reflect the underlying principles of EnQuest’s 
People and Organisation strategy. 

Internationally, the key focus was upon establishing a strong and 
sustainable EnQuest team in Malaysia to support the Company’s 
increased operational portfolio there.

The projects rolled out in the North Sea business during 2014 under 
the People and Organisation agenda – summarised as the right 
organisation, with great people, who deliver exceptional 
performance, in the EnQuest way – included the Workday system. 
This unified HR platform delivers greater control, decision making 
and compliance and reflects EnQuest’s distinctive way of working. 

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014We also introduced a new employee grading system designed to 
add extra consistency and fairness and instigated a staff development 
programme. A pilot phase completed in 2014 featured approximately 
20 members of staff who underwent a set schedule of coaching and 
mentoring support. Several of those involved have gone on to be 
promoted within the organisation. 

Business Conduct: During 2014 EnQuest refreshed its anti-
bribery and compliance training programme, rolling this out to 
all of its personnel.
In addition a compliance officer was appointed in order to review 
and monitor EnQuest’s compliance related policies and controls.
EnQuest’s Code of Conduct was updated to reflect a number of 
policy changes. 

That same principle was also evident in the ongoing offshore staff 
deepening process, which continued with 49 further personnel 
transferring from Petrofac during the year.

In addition, it delivered EnQuest’s first formal student placement 
campaign. A total of 15 students from universities across Scotland 
spent three months with the company, working in many different 
areas of the business. 

Together, these initiatives illustrate the ongoing process of maturing 
the practices and processes that underpin all HR related work. 

Despite the challenging economic conditions, EnQuest successfully 
repeated its ability to build organisational capability internationally. 

The Board also reviewed the Company’s approach to gender 
diversity and confirmed that whilst we work hard to ensure that we 
recruit from a diverse background of candidates, not just in relation 
to gender, we will continue to recruit the best candidate available for 
the job, without the decision being influenced by a need to fill certain 
quotas. We believe that our gender statistics are representative of the 
demographics of the wider oil and gas industry.

Community: Continued active work programme supporting core 
community relationships
Once again EnQuest placed a great deal of emphasis upon its 
community relations work, and helped to deliver very practical gains 
in the process.

Tullos Primary School partnership: Community `

EnQuest’s partnership with Tullos Primary School in Aberdeen 
continued throughout the year. 

Specifically, it focused upon ‘designing’ an organisation – and 
subsequently assembling a team while putting all required policies 
and processes in place – in Malaysia. This process was completed, 
from a standing start, over the course of just a few months. By the 
end of the year, we had approximately 80 onshore staff and 50 
offshore personnel, complemented by a wider team of contractors.

A five strong HR team was formed in Malaysia to deliver this 
challenging workscope, which was exacerbated by a tight 
recruitment market in the country. The team has been working with 
an appropriate degree of autonomy while at the same time ensuring 
EnQuest’s broader principles, as they apply to HR activities, are fully 
aligned to those of the Group. 

EnQuest’s successful launch into Malaysia has also fuelled a broader 
objective: to create new career development experiences and 
opportunities for EnQuest people in new geographical locations.

The centrepiece of EnQuest’s year was a charity golf day in June 
which raised more than £75,000 for a number of organisations 
and campaigns.

A total of £15,000 was donated to the Play Golf – Help Save Lives 
campaign led by former Ryder Cup Bernard Gallacher. The money 
was used to gift life-saving equipment to 15 golf clubs – 14 in the 
north-east of Scotland with high membership numbers, and one in 
Shetland – in partnership with safety training and offshore services 
specialist Falck Safety Services.

Each club received automated external defibrillators (‘AED’): 
Bernard Gallacher credits the availability of an AED for saving his 
life when he suffered a cardiac arrest at a reception in Aberdeen in 
2013. He subsequently launched the campaign to provide public 
access defibrillators at golf clubs across the UK and Ireland.

We also donated £10,000 to the Arrhythmia Alliance, which raises 
awareness of cardiac arrhythmias and their treatment, as well as 
£25,000 to each of our two nominated charities: Archway and The 
Paul Lawrie Foundation.

There was further support for Archway, which provides support 
services for young people and adults with learning disabilities, in 
the form of three ‘makeover’ sessions at a respite centre run by the 
charity. Groups of EnQuest people spent time performing painting 
work and other renovation tasks to enhance the facility.

EnQuest’s partnership with Tullos Primary School in Aberdeen 
continued throughout the year. Subsurface and wells personnel 
visited the school during its annual Science Week to offer an insight 
into their specialist areas of the industry. Through our partnership 
with the Paul Lawrie Foundation, we arranged for the provision of 
pop-up golf facilities at the school to allow youngsters to try the 
sport, and also facilitated two visits by pupils to the Paul Lawrie Golf 
Centre just outside Aberdeen. 

We supported two Christmas appeals in the north-east of Scotland: 
Northsound Radio’s Cash for Kids ‘Mission Christmas’ and Instant 
Neighbour’s Giving Tree appeal. The campaigns had the same aim: 
to ensure every child in Aberdeen received at least one gift on 
Christmas Day. EnQuest people donated gifts to both causes, while 
some members of staff provided practical support to the Cash for 
Kids appeal by spending time at the radio station, sorting gifts into 
age categories. 

The Strategic Report was approved by the Board and signed on 
its behalf by the Company Secretary on 18 March 2015.

Stefan Ricketts
Company Secretary

45

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014GOVERNANCE
BOARD OF 
DIRECTORS

DR JAMES BUCKEE
NON-EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN

AMJAD BSEISU
CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Appointed: 22 February 2010
Committees: Nomination (Chairman)
Skills and experience: James Buckee holds a BSc Honours degree in Physics 
and a PhD in Astrophysics. Between 1971 and 1987, James held various 
petroleum engineering positions with Shell International, Burma Oil and BP, 
London. In 1987 James was appointed as operations manager for BP Norway, 
and thereafter vice-president, development programmes, for BP Alaska. 
In 1989 James returned to the UK as manager, planning, for BP Exploration. In 
1991 he was appointed president and chief operating officer of BP Canada Inc. 
and in 1993 as president and chief executive officer of Talisman Energy Inc. 
James retired from Talisman Energy Inc. in 2007. 

Other principal external appointments: Non-executive director of Rodinia Oil 
Corp., Magma Global and Black Swan Energy. James is also on the advisory 
board of KERN partners.

Appointed: 22 February 2010
Skills and experience: Amjad Bseisu holds a BSc Honours degree in Mechanical 
Engineering and an MSc and D.ENG degree in Aeronautical Engineering. From 
1984 to 1998, Amjad worked for the Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO), 
eventually becoming president of ARCO Petroleum Ventures and ARCO Crude 
Trading Inc. In 1998 Amjad founded the operations and investment business 
for Petrofac Limited and was the chief executive officer of Petrofac Energy 
Developments International Limited. In 2010 Amjad formed EnQuest PLC 
having previously been a founding non-executive director of Serica Energy plc 
and Stratic Energy Corporation. 

Other principal external appointments: Non-executive chairman of Enviromena 
Power Systems, a private company and the leading developer of solar services 
in the Middle East.

The EnQuest Board 
The composition of the Board remained 
constant during 2014. The Directors assess 
and evolve EnQuest’s strategy, taking key 
decisions on its implementation. In 2014 
these included the acquisition of EnQuest’s 
first producing assets outside the North 
Sea and in 2015 the Board also took 
measured actions in light of the changed 
macro environment, in particular in terms 
of setting the new business plans for 2015 
and beyond. 

46

JONATHAN SWINNEY
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

Appointed:  29 March 2010
Skills and experience: Jonathan Swinney qualified as a chartered accountant 
with Arthur Andersen in 1992 and is a member of the Institute of Chartered 
Accountants of England and Wales. Jonathan qualified as a solicitor in 1997 
and trained at Cameron McKenna, joining the acquisition finance team upon 
qualification. In 1998 Jonathan joined Credit Suisse First Boston working within 
the corporate broking team. Jonathan later moved to Lehman Brothers advising 
on a wide range of transactions and in 2006 he became a managing director 
within the corporate broking team. Jonathan joined Petrofac Limited in April 
2008 as head of mergers and acquisitions for the Petrofac Group, and left in 
2010 to join EnQuest PLC. 

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014HELMUT LANGANGER
SENIOR INDEPENDENT DIRECTOR

DR PHILIP NOLAN
NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Appointed: 16 March 2010 
Committees: Remuneration (Chairman), Audit and Nomination 
Skills and experience: Helmut Langanger holds an MSc degree in Petroleum 
Engineering and an MA in Economics. Between 1974 and 2010, Helmut was 
employed by OMV, Austria where he was a reservoir engineer until 1980. 
From 1981 to 1985, Helmut was an evaluation engineer for the technical and 
economic assessment of international E&P ventures, and from 1985 to 1989 
he held the position of vice-president, planning and economics for E&P and 
natural gas projects. In 1989 Helmut was appointed as senior vice-president 
of international E&P and in 1992 became senior vice-president of E&P for 
OMV’s global operations. From 2002 Helmut had been the group executive 
vice-president for E&P, OMV until he retired in 2010. 

Other principal external appointments: Non-executive director of Schoeller 
Bleckmann Oilfield Equipment A.G. (Austria), Serinus Energy Inc. (formerly 
Kulczyk Oil Ventures Inc.) (Poland and Canada) and MND (Czech Republic).

Appointed: 1 August 2012
Committees: Audit, Nomination and Remuneration 
Skills and experience: Phil Nolan holds both a BSc and a PhD in Geology 
and has an MBA from the London Business School. Phil has held a number of 
senior positions in the oil and gas sector including serving as an executive 
director of BG Group plc and as chief executive officer of Transco. Prior to 
this Phil was head of acquisitions and disposals at BP Exploration and 
managing director of Interconnector (UK) Ltd. Phil was CEO of Eircom, 
Ireland’s national telecommunications supplier from 2002 to 2006. 

Other principal external appointments: Non-executive chairman of John 
Laing plc, Ulster Bank and Affinity Water. He is also non-executive director 
of Providence Resources P.l.c. 

JOCK LENNOX
NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

CLARE SPOTTISWOODE
NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Appointed: 22 February 2010
Committee: Audit (Chairman), Nomination and Remuneration
Skills and experience: Jock Lennox holds a Law degree and in 1980 qualified 
as a chartered accountant with Ernst & Young LLP, Edinburgh and is a 
member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland. In 1988 Jock 
became a partner at Ernst & Young LLP, London, and retired in 2009. 

Other principal external appointments: Non-executive director of Dixons 
Carphone plc, Hill & Smith Holdings plc and A&J Mucklow Group plc. Jock is 
also senior independent director of Oxford Instruments plc and a trustee of 
the Tall Ships Youth Trust.

Appointed: 1 July 2011
Committee: Audit, Nomination and Remuneration 
Skills and experience: Clare Spottiswoode holds an M.Phil degree in 
Economics and an MA in Mathematics and Economics. Clare began her 
career in the Treasury before starting her own software company. Between 
1993 and 1998 she was director general of Ofgas, the UK gas regulator. From 
2002 to 2007 Clare was a non-executive director of Tullow Oil plc. 

Other principal external appointments: Non-executive chairman of Gas 
Strategies Group Limited and Flow plc and non-executive director of G4S plc, 
Ilika plc, Seven Energy Ltd, the Payments Council and Partnership Assurance 
Group plc. 

47

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014GOVERNANCE
SENIOR 
MANAGEMENT

NEIL MCCULLOCH 
PRESIDENT, NORTH SEA 

RICHARD HALL
HEAD OF MAJOR PROJECTS 

Neil is a graduate of Cambridge University and Heriot Watt University and 
holds a Master’s degree in Petroleum Engineering. He began his career as a 
graduate trainee with British Gas E&P and from 1996-2001 worked in a variety 
of technical consultancy and investment banking roles. He then went on to 
spend 11 years with BG Group in a range of senior UK and international roles, 
latterly as vice president & asset general manager, UK Upstream, with 
accountability for the delivery of BG’s UK North Sea business. Neil joined 
EnQuest in March 2014 from international oil and gas company OMV AG, 
where he held the global role of senior vice president production 
& engineering.

Richard Hall graduated from Leeds University with a BSc in Chemical 
Engineering and spent the first 10 years of his career gaining experience 
with operating oil companies (Amoco, Hess and Murphy Petroleum) as a 
supervisor in offshore field operations, petroleum engineering, project 
management and execution, and commercial negotiations. Richard was one 
of four founders and operations director of the service company UWG Ltd 
(now known as Acteon Group) which won the Institute of Petroleum Platinum 
award in 2001. He formed and led a team which won the prestigious Queen’s 
Award for Export. He subsequently went on to join Petrofac as vice president 
of operations & developments and in addition, became general manager in 
Malaysia. Before joining EnQuest Richard was CEO and co-founder of Nio 
Petroleum which was acquired by EnQuest in 2012, with Richard joining the 
Senior Management Team as Head of Major Projects with primary 
responsibility for delivery of the Kraken project.

FAYSAL HAMZA
HEAD OF INTERNATIONAL 

NIGEL HARES
CO-FOUNDER AND STRATEGIC ADVISER 

Faysal has an MBA from Georgetown University in Washington and over 25 
years of experience in oil and gas finance, business development and private 
equity. Faysal joined EnQuest in 2011 and prior to that was managing director, 
private equity at Swicorp, a financial firm operating in the Middle East and 
North Africa. Faysal has also held roles as senior executive at Arab Petroleum 
Investment Corporation (APICORP), group business development manager 
with the Alturki Group in Saudi Arabia, and management positions at Arco 
International Oil & Gas Company (ARCO) in the US, Saudi International Bank 
in London and the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco).

From 1972 to 1994, Nigel worked for BP in the UK, Abu Dhabi, Norway and 
Alaska. At BP, Nigel’s roles included those of drilling, petroleum, reservoir, 
well-site, and offshore production engineer. Nigel also held positions of 
production and pipeline superintendent, manager of petroleum engineering, 
manager of reservoir studies for Middle East, Europe and Africa and business 
adviser, developing global gas strategies for BP. From 1994 to 2009 Nigel 
was executive vice-president, international operations for Talisman Energy Inc 
based in Calgary, heading operations for the UK, Norway, Netherlands, 
Algeria, Sudan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Peru, Colombia and Trinidad; 
during this period international production grew from zero to 250,000 
Boepd. Nigel retired from his role as Co-founder and Strategic Adviser at 
the end of 2014.

48

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014GRAHAM COOPER
HEAD OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT 

STEFAN RICKETTS
GENERAL COUNSEL, COMPANY SECRETARY, CHIEF RISK OFFICER

Graham graduated from Cambridge University with a Masters in Natural 
Sciences and then worked as a wireline logging engineer before joining 
Conoco in 1982 as a geologist and petrophysicist. During his time at Conoco, 
Graham held a number of technical roles, both in the UK and Dubai, before 
moving into various commercial roles. In 1999, Graham joined Shell UK as 
new business development manager in Aberdeen and subsequently moved 
to The Hague in 2005 to take up the role of vice-president commercial for 
global exploration. Graham latterly became head of Shell’s commercial 
academy, before joining EnQuest in October 2010. From 2011 to 2013 
Graham was also a non-executive director of Ascent Resources PLC.

Stefan joined EnQuest in 2012 and is responsible for all legal and company 
secretarial matters and for EnQuest’s Risk Management Framework. Prior to 
joining EnQuest, Stefan was a partner at Fulbright & Jaworski, LLP heading 
its energy and natural resources practice in the Asia-Pacific region. He had 
previously been global general counsel at BG Group plc. Stefan, who 
graduated from the University of Bristol with a degree in law, began his early 
career as a solicitor with Herbert Smith. He has significant experience as a 
lawyer and in management working across the energy chain and in all phases 
of project development and operations. In previous roles he has been based 
in London, Paris, Dubai, Jakarta, Singapore and Hong Kong.

GRAEME COOK
HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR

Graeme holds an MA in Accountancy & Economics from the University of 
Dundee and has over 20 years’ experience in both finance and HR leadership 
roles. Graeme’s early career was spent predominantly with Schlumberger living 
and working in the UK, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. He returned to the 
UK in 2004 and was appointed as HR director for BG Group’s Mediterranean 
Basin and Africa region. Prior to this, Graeme was group head of talent and 
leadership for Legal & General PLC. Since joining EnQuest in April 2011, 
Graeme has had responsibility for ensuring that the company has the 
necessary people and organisation in place to deliver EnQuest’s ambitious 
growth agenda.

49

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014GOVERNANCE 
CHAIRMAN’S
LETTER

Dear Shareholder, 
EnQuest PLC (‘EnQuest’ or the 
‘Company’) has produced strong 
results in 2014, and we have continued to 
grow our business in line with our vision 
despite the current headwinds generated 
by the present low oil price. The dramatic 
reduction in oil price was generally not 
anticipated by the industry. EnQuest 
has however responded vigorously to 
the challenges and opportunities which 
have followed. 

Our resilience is as a result of the excellent people we have, our 
values and the processes we have in place. I would like to extend 
my thanks to the management and people of the Company for 
the hard work and dedication shown throughout the year. 

Corporate governance
I am pleased to report that your Company has complied in full 
with the 2012 UK Corporate Governance Code. In September 
2014, the FRC published the revised 2014 UK Corporate 
Governance Code compliance with which will be reported 
annually by the Company from next year. The Company is well 
advanced in implementing its responses to the changes brought 
in by the 2014 UK Corporate Governance Code. 

Corporate Governance for EnQuest is not just about following a 
set of rules but embedding a framework which supports our core 
values and, provides structure for how we are organised, how we 
manage risk, how we behave and how we provide assurance in 
respect of performance. Your Board has strengthened a number 
of areas of Corporate Governance including our risk management 
framework and Corporate Responsibility. We have worked, and 
continue to work, to ensure that all elements of corporate 
governance are ingrained in our corporate culture and we have 
developed an environment which nurtures, develops and 
maintains our approach. 

We have three main Board committees within our governance 
framework: Audit Committee; Remuneration Committee; and 
Nomination Committee, which assist the Board in fulfilment of 
its corporate governance objectives. The core functions and 
activities of each can be found in their respective sections. In 
addition to this, our governance framework also contains several 
non-Board committees, which provide advice and support to 
the Chief Executive, including an Executive Committee and 
Operations Committees for each of the North Sea and 
International business divisions. In addition we have established 
a Risk Committee responsible for the discussion with the Board 
of the principal outputs from EnQuest’s Risk Management 
Framework. We also hold dedicated HSE reviews on a quarterly 
basis which are chaired by the Chief Executive.

Board composition and succession planning
Whilst there have been no changes to the Board during 2014, 
succession planning to ensure the right composition of the Board 
has remained a key priority. As Chairman I constantly monitor and 
review the balance of skills and knowledge on the Board to ensure 
that the Board is able successfully to execute its strategy, 
supported by the annual review of Board effectiveness. 

Corporate Responsibility 
The Board reviewed the Company’s approach to Corporate 
Responsibility and has approved a model which improves 
transparency. The main areas of focus are Health and Safety, 
People, the Environment, Business Conduct and Society, each 
with its own key elements and relevant policy framework. 

EnQuest is committed to operating responsibly and will 
never knowingly compromise the Company’s Health and Safety 
standards. Our approach to HSE&A management is built on our 
values, which are Respect, Focus, Agility, Creativity, Passion, 
Collaboration and Empowerment. These values assist us in 
fostering a working environment which is secure, creative 
and passionate.

50

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014EnQuest Governance and Management Map

Board of Directors

Audit Committee

Nomination Committee

Remuneration Committee

Chief Executive

Risk Committee

Executive Committee

International 
Operations Committee

North Sea
Operations Committee

Quarterly HSE Review

During 2014 the Company conducted a thorough review of its 
Corporate Responsibility policies, which included the area of 
Human Rights. We seek to avoid causing or contributing to adverse 
human rights impacts and to address such impacts when they 
occur. We have ensured that we have strong relevant policies in 
place covering the areas of Health and Safety, People, Business 
Environment, Business Conduct and Community. We will be 
working towards monitoring the impact and progress of these 
areas in the coming period. We have updated our website to reflect 
the changes that have been made and we hope that investors find 
that these changes provide informative and useful insight into our 
approach to Corporate Responsibility and Human Rights. 

ENQUEST VALUES
COLLABORATION

Collaboration is a critical element uniting everyone towards 
common goals. It does not carry one’s role higher than that of 
others; thus, making everyone equally important and relevant 
to the business. Collaboration stands very prominently as a 
critical work delivery method for a high performance team. 
RUSLAN IBRAHIM, HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER, MALAYSIA

Risk
We have undertaken a review of the Company’s risk management 
processes and the Board has adopted a Risk Management 
Framework that has developed upon existing processes, including 
making the Company’s approach to risk management more 
robust in light of the growth and expansion internationally. 

Shareholder engagement
Transparent and ongoing engagement with shareholders remains 
a key for the Board and we have held numerous investor relation 
events during 2014, including investor broker and sales meetings 
as well as presentations at international conferences. We routinely 
invite governance officers of key institutional investors to meet 
with the Chairman and Senior Independent Director to discuss 
any governance issues they may have. 

Strategy
The Board continued to provide strategic guidance to Executive 
Management throughout the year, which culminated in EnQuest’s 
annual Board strategy day in October 2014. The workshop 
involved a comprehensive review of our existing strategy as well 
as identification of key themes to help us navigate changes in the 
landscape for our business. We are confident that our strategy has 
positioned us well to achieve our long term goals and to maximise 
shareholder value. 

Dr James Buckee 
Chairman

51

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014Role of the Non-Executive Directors
The Non-Executive Directors bring to the Board independence, 
along with a broad mix of business skills, knowledge and 
experience. They provide an external perspective to Board 
discussions and are responsible for the scrutiny of the Executive 
Management on behalf of shareholders. The Board is satisfied that 
all of the Non-Executive Directors meet the independence criteria 
as set by the UK Corporate Governance Code. The terms and 
conditions of each of their appointments are available for inspection

The Non-Executive Directors, in conjunction with the Chairman, 
meet at least once annually in order to review the effectiveness 
of the Board. 

Senior Independent Director
Helmut Langanger continues to serve as the Senior Independent 
Director and provides a sounding board for the Chairman as well 
as acting as an intermediary with other Directors when necessary. 
He also discusses any concerns with shareholders that cannot be 
resolved through the normal channels of communications with 
the Chairman or the Chief Executive. The Senior Independent 
Director meets with the other Non-Executive Directors without 
the Chairman present at least annually in order to evaluate the 
performance of the Chairman. The outcome of their 2014 evaluation 
is addressed on page 53.

Company Secretary
The Company Secretary is responsible for advising the Board, 
through the Chairman, on all governance matters. In addition, 
each Director has access to the advice and services of the 
Company Secretary. There is also a procedure agreed by 
the Board, in furtherance of its duties, to take independent 
professional advice if necessary, at the Company’s expense, up to 
a predetermined limit. The Company Secretary is instrumental in 
facilitating the induction of new directors and assists with the 
ongoing training and development of the Board. 

Board activity during the year
How the Board operates
The Board held six scheduled Board meetings throughout 2014, four 
of which were held at the Company’s registered office in London, 
one was held at the Company’s Aberdeen office and one was held 
offsite in conjunction with the strategy day. In addition to this a 
number of other meetings were held in order to deal with matters 
that required consideration at short notice. 

Board papers are distributed in a timely manner via our online Board 
portal system, which provides faster access to Board papers as well 
as reducing our environmental impact through the elimination of 
paper packs and removing the costs associated with printing and 
distribution. The Board agenda is drawn up by the Company 
Secretary in conjunction with the Chairman and with agreement 
from the Chief Executive. 

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE 
STATEMENT

The Board of Directors remains 
unchanged from 2013 and is currently 
made up of two Executive Directors and 
five Non-Executive Directors, including 
the Chairman.

Leadership
Board composition
The Board of Directors remains unchanged from 2013 
and is currently made up of two Executive Directors and five 
Non-Executive Directors, including the Chairman. All of the 
Directors served throughout the reporting period. Their 
biographies, including prior experience, are set out on 
pages 46 and 47.

The role of the Board
The Board is responsible for leadership of the Company and setting 
strategic objectives, in order to deliver long term shareholder value. 
The Board is not responsible for the execution of its strategic 
objectives and these are delegated to the Executive Management. 
Operational management of the Group on a day-to-day basis is 
overseen by the North Sea Operations Committee and the 
International Operations Committee, each of which comprises 
members of the Executive Committee, Asset Managers and 
selected Senior Management. 

The Board has a formal schedule of matters specifically reserved to 
it for decisions, which has been approved by the Board. Its reserved 
matters include to determine the overall strategy of the Group, to 
review business plans and trading performance, to approve major 
capital investment projects, to examine acquisition opportunities 
and divestment possibilities, to review significant financial and 
operational issues, and to review and approve the Company’s 
financial statements, control and risk management systems.

Chairman and Chief Executive
The division of responsibilities between the Chairman and the Chief 
Executive has been clearly established, set out in writing and agreed 
by the Board. Your Chairman is an independent Non-Executive 
Director and his key responsibilities are the leadership of, setting the 
agenda for and ensuring the effective working of, the Board. The 
Chairman also ensures that the effectiveness and integrity of the 
Board/Executive relationship is maintained between scheduled Board 
meetings through regular contact with all Board members. The Chief 
Executive’s role is the operational management of the business, 
developing strategy in consultation with the Board and then 
implementing such strategy. 

52

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014Directors’ attendance at Board and Board Committee meetings
The table below sets out the attendance record of each Director at scheduled Board and Board Committee meetings during 2014:

Board
Audit Committee
Nomination Committee
Remuneration Committee

Amjad Bseisu

Jonathan 
Swinney

Jim Buckee

Helmut 
Langanger

Jock Lennox

Clare 
Spottiswoode

Phil Nolan

6/6
n/a
3/3
n/a

6/6
n/a
n/a
n/a

6/6
n/a
3/3
n/a

6/6
3/3
3/3
3/3

6/6
3/3
3/3
3/3

6/6
3/3
3/3
3/3

6/6
3/3
3/3
3/3

Notes:
n/a not applicable where a Director is not a member of the Committee.
Amjad Bseisu, Jonathan Swinney and James Buckee have attended Committee meetings by invitation. These details have not been included in the table.

Board agenda and key activities throughout 2014
The table below sets out matters that the Board discuss at each 
meeting and the key activities that have taken place throughout 
the period.

Matters considered at all Board meetings
 ` Key project status and 

Key activities for the Board throughout 2014
 ` Annual offsite strategy day 

progress

 ` Strategy and business 

development

 ` Financial reports and 

statements

 ` Operational issues and 

highlights

held in October

 ` Corporate Responsibility 
reviewed and updated

 ` Risk Management Framework 

approved by the Board

 ` Approval and issuance of High 

Yield Bond

 ` Investor relations and capital 

markets update
 ` HSE&A matters
 ` HR issues and developments
 ` Key legal updates
 ` Key transactions

 ` Board site visit to Newcastle 

(Alma/Galia project)

 ` Review of the controls process 
in respect of contractual 
commitments

 ` 2014 budget review and 2015 

budget approval

 ` Review and approval of the 

HSE&A policy

 ` Review and approval of the 

Treasury policy

 ` Periodic updates on corporate 

regulatory changes and 
reporting requirements
 ` Project assurance processes

Board Committees
The Board delegates a number of responsibilities to its Audit 
Committee, Remuneration Committee and Nomination Committee, 
each of which has formal terms of reference approved by the Board. 
The terms of reference for each of these Committees satisfy the 
requirements of the Code and are reviewed internally on an 
ongoing basis by the Board. Copies of the terms of reference are 
available on the Company’s website.

The Committees are provided with all necessary resources to enable 
them to undertake their duties in an effective manner. 

The Company Secretary acts as secretary to the Committees and 
minutes of all Committee meetings are available to all Directors.

In addition to the three Board committees we have several non-Board 
committees, which assist the Chief Executive in the implementation 
and monitoring of strategy, namely these are the Executive 
Committee, North Sea Operations Committee, International 
Operations Committee and the Group Health, Safety, Environment 
and Assurance team. 

Delegation of Authority
We have a comprehensive Delegation of Authority matrix, which 
sets out the delegated authority levels and other controls from 
Board level down. This is periodically reviewed and in 2014 it was 
supplemented with delegations specific to the Company’s Trading 
and Marketing operations including as to counter party credit risk, 
reflecting the expansion of the Company’s sources of oil production.

Board evaluation
A comprehensive internal Board evaluation covering 2014 has been 
conducted. This was supported by a high level questionnaire which 
built on the results of previous year’s evaluation. The evaluation was 
facilitated by the Company Secretary, under the direction of the 
Chairman and key topics covered included: 

 ` strategy and investment matters;
 ` internal control and corporate governance; 
 ` administration, support and development of the Board; and
 ` Board membership and proceedings of meetings.

The review recognised the individual and collective strengths of 
the directors. The Board considered its own composition in light 
of the development of the Company, and examined how to enhance 
information flows and optimise the Board’s impact on areas such as 
strategy, risk management and assurance process as well as 
information flows.

In addition to the Board evaluation the Senior Independent 
Director conducted a review by the Board of the Chairman. The 
review recognised the Chairman’s extensive experience and solid 
stewardship during a challenging period for the Company. Relations 
between Executive Directors and Non-Executive Directors are good 
and there is a strong degree of alignment on the areas requiring 
attention over the coming year as part of the Board’s commitment 
to continuous improvement. 

EnQuest conducts an externally facilitated board review once every 
three years. We will be conducting our second externally facilitated 
Board review in 2015, the first one having taken place in 2013.

Induction, information and support
New Directors receive a full induction following their appointment, 
covering the activities of the Group and its key business and financial 
risks, the terms of reference of the Board and its Committees and the 
latest financial information about the Group.

The Board is updated regularly throughout the year on regulatory 
and governance changes as well as industry developments. The 
Chairman monitors the breadth of knowledge, skills and experience 
of the Board and its Committees to ensure that they can fulfil 
their obligations. 

53

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014CORPORATE GOVERNANCE 
STATEMENT CONTINUED

The Directors may consult with the Company Secretary at any time 
on matters related to their role on the Board. 

The table below illustrates the documentation that new Board 
Directors are issued with when they are appointed on to the Board 
of EnQuest. 

Induction documentation for new Directors

General

Policies

Board and Committees

Governance

Insurance

Contact details; Board and relevant 
committee minutes; previous ARA’s 
and other announcements and 
reports; delegation of authority 
matrix; Company organisation chart
Employee share dealing; code of 
conduct; anti-corruption training 
programme; Director duties; listing 
rules and disclosures summary
Matters reserved for the Board; 
committee terms of reference
Latest UK corporate governance 
code; EnQuest’s Articles of 
Association
D&O policy cover and indemnification

Accountability
Conflicts of interest
Directors have a duty to avoid direct and indirect conflicts of 
interest. Directors must report any concern in this respect and we 
ensure that potential and actual conflicts of interest are recorded, 
and the Board is satisfied that formal procedures are in place to 
ensure that authorisation for potential and actual conflicts of interest 
are operated efficiently. 

Anti-bribery and corruption
In 2014 we have continued to embed our anti-corruption 
programme including by re-issuing our anti-corruption programme 
to the whole Company to refresh the familiarity of our personnel 
with EnQuest’s zero tolerance approach and with the Company 
specific policies. 

Risk
As noted above, we have developed a comprehensive Risk 
Management Framework throughout the course of 2014 which was 
approved and adopted by the Board in October 2014. Key elements 
of the Risk Management Framework include: to identify the risks, to 
assess the risks, ensuring reliable prioritisation, to respond to the 
risks by implementing fully resourced and effective plans with action 
owners, and to control the risk through a regular tracking of risk and 
action progress, by communicating through the organisation.

EnQuest’s Risk Management Framework underpins how risks are 
identified and managed across the organisation. Some key elements 
of the programme include:

We will be continuing to embed the new elements of our framework 
throughout 2015. 

The Company has encouraged staff to escalate any concerns 
they may have. We provide an external ‘speak-up’ reporting line for 
this purpose.

There have been a limited number of instances where issues have 
been elevated. The identified issues have been addressed and 
investigated by the Company’s General Counsel. 

Engagement with shareholders 
Relations with shareholders
Effective shareholder engagement is essential to the Board and we 
ensure continuous dialogue throughout the year by way of investor 
relations programmes through which the Chief Executive, Chief 
Financial Officer and Senior Management regularly meet with major 
shareholders, and by providing extensive information about the 
Group’s activities through the Annual Report and Accounts, half 
yearly report and interim management statements, which are 
published promptly and made available on our website. 

In 2014, numerous investor and broker sales meetings were held, 
presentations were made at international conferences as well as a 
results presentations, which altogether provided for comprehensive 
and engaging dialogue with shareholders and potential investors. 
The Company periodically arranges for formal surveys of investor 
opinion to be conducted, these are reported to the Board.

Corporate governance at EnQuest is designed to promote the 
long term interests of our shareholders, strengthen management 
accountability, and foster responsible decision making. We routinely 
invite the governance officers of large institutional investors to meet 
with the Chairman and Senior Independent Director in order to 
discuss any governance issues that they may wish to raise with the 
Company. These initiatives are made in order to help ensure that we 
are openly promoting high standards of corporate governance.

Shareholders and other interested parties can subscribe to receive 
news updates by email by registering online on the website.

2014 Annual Report
Following extensive review, the Board has concluded that the 
2014 Annual Report and Accounts, as a whole, is fair, balanced and 
understandable and provides the information necessary for users to 
assess the Company’s performance, business model and strategy. 

Annual General Meeting
The Board uses the Company’s Annual General Meeting (‘AGM’) to 
communicate with investors and welcomes their participation. All 
shareholders, or their duly appointed proxies, are entitled to attend 
the AGM, at which the Board members are present. The Board views 
the AGM as a good opportunity to meet with smaller private 
shareholders. A summary presentation of results is given by the 
Chief Executive before the Chairman deals with the formal business. 
All shareholders present can question the Chairman, the Chairmen 
of the Committees and the rest of the Board both during the 
meeting and informally afterwards.

 ` articulation of the Company’s risk appetite to underpin risk 

activities across the organisation;

 ` clear identification of risk areas affecting the Company and 

allocation of responsibilities for identification, monitoring and 
management of risks;

 ` delineation of actions to be undertaken in response to risk and 

the resources required in order to achieve this; and
 ` governance practices delineating the roles of the Risk 

Committee, Audit Committee and the Board as well as how risk 
management and assurance mapping are reported. 

54

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014AUDIT COMMITTEE  
REPORT

Role of the Audit Committee
The remit of the Audit Committee is summarised below and is 
detailed in full in its terms of reference, a copy of which is available 
on the Company’s website www.enquest.com under Corporate 
governance. The main responsibilities of the Committee are to:

 ` monitor the integrity of the financial statements, including annual 

and interim reports and any other formal announcement relating to 
the Company’s financial performance;

 ` consider whether the Annual Report and Accounts is fair, balanced 

and understandable;

 ` monitor and review the process of audit of the Group’s proven and 

probable reserves by a recognised Competent Person;

 ` monitor and review the Company’s internal control procedures and 

risk management systems;

 ` monitor and review the effectiveness of the external and internal 

audit activities;

 ` make recommendations to the Board on the appointment, review 

and removal of external auditor;

 ` monitor whether any calls had been made to the externally 

facilitated ‘Speak Up’ reporting line;

 ` establish the external auditor remuneration;
 ` monitor the external auditor independence;
 ` monitor the policy on the external auditors’ non-audit services; and
 ` identify any matters in respect of which it considers that action or 

improvement is needed and making recommendations to the Board 
as to the steps to be taken.

Dear Shareholder, 
When we last reported to you, we 
set out our planned areas of focus 
for 2014. 

These included:

 ` considering the effectiveness of our major capital project 

management, and cost forecasting;

 ` conduct an assurance mapping exercise; and
 ` ensuring our controls and risk management processes are 

embedded within our international locations.

Our work during 2014 has, as planned, focused on these areas: 
PwC, our internal auditor, conducted a review of our project 
management controls, processes and governance associated 
with our Kraken project, and a third party has been 
commissioned to give assurance to the Board as the Kraken 
project progresses. Additionally, we have overseen the 
development of an assurance map which was considered by the 
Committee and Board in the March meeting, and have had 
regular updates from management in respect of the controls and 
processes being developed in our newly acquired businesses.

Unsurprisingly, the significant decline in the oil price, and 
resulting pressure on EnQuest’s cash flows and covenants, 
has necessitated that the Committee pay particular attention to 
how the Company has responded, and the appropriateness of 
the going concern assumption. The market conditions have 
increased the risk in respect of judgements and estimates made 
in the financial statements, and our work during the year has 
responded to this. Details of these judgements and estimates, 
and how we satisfied ourselves as to their appropriateness, are 
set out in detail below, together with further information on how 
the Committee discharged its responsibilities during the year.

Looking ahead into 2015 we will continue to monitor closely the 
Group’s financial liquidity, and will maintain our focus on ensuring 
the controls and risk management processes within the Group 
are embedded appropriately within our Malaysia business.

Jock Lennox
Chairman of the Audit Committee
18 March 2015 

Committee composition
As required by the Code, the Committee is comprised exclusively of 
Non-Executive Directors, biographies of whom are set out on pages 
46 and 47. The Board is satisfied that the Chairman of the Committee, 
a previous audit partner of a Big Four audit firm and member of the 
Institute of Chartered Accountants in Scotland, meets the 
requirement for recent and relevant financial experience.

Membership of the Committee and attendance at the three 
meetings held during 2014 is provided in the table below:

Member

Date appointed 
Committee member

Attendance  
at meetings 
during the year

Jock Lennox (Committee Chairman) 22 February 2010
Clare Spottiswoode
1 July 2011
16 March 2010
Helmut Langanger
1 August 2012
Phil Nolan

3/3
3/3
3/3
3/3

Meetings are also normally attended by the General Counsel 
and Company Secretary, the Chief Financial Officer and the Group 
Financial Controller and the external auditor. The Chief Executive 
and Chairman of the Board also attend the meetings when invited to 
do so by the Committee. PwC, in their role as internal auditor during 
2014, attended the meetings as appropriate. The Chairman of the 
Committee regularly meets with the external audit partner and the 
internal audit partner to discuss matters relevant to the Company.

55

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014AUDIT COMMITTEE  
REPORT CONTINUED

Meetings during 2014 
In line with the Committee’s annual schedule, since the Committee last reported to you, three meetings have been held. 

A summary of the items discussed in each meeting is set out in the table below:

Agenda item

Aug 2014

Dec 2014

March 2015

Key risks, judgements and uncertainties impacting the half-year and year-end financial statements 
(reports from both Management and EY)*

Internal audit findings since last meeting

Internal audit plan for 2015

Review and approve external audit plan, including key risks and planned approach 

Approve external audit fees subject to the audit plan

Review level of non-audit service fees for EY

Evaluate quality, independence and objectivity of EY

Evaluate Management’s planned approach to giving Board comfort on ’fair, balanced and 
understandable‘ statement

Corporate governance update

Presentation on the reserves audit and evaluation of the Competent Person’s independence 
and objectivity

Internal control update for international locations

Appropriateness of going concern assumption

Review of Corporate Risk Register

*  Ernst & Young LLP

Financial reporting and significant financial statement reporting issues
The primary role of the Committee in relation to financial reporting is to assess, amongst other things:















































 ` the appropriateness of the accounting policies selected and disclosures made, including whether they comply with International 

Financial Reporting Standards; and

 ` those judgements, estimates and key assumptions that could have a significant impact on the Group’s financial performance and 

position, or on the remuneration of Senior Management.

We consider these items together with both management and our external auditor, who both provide reports to the Audit Committee in 
respect of these areas at each Committee Meeting. The main areas considered during 2014 are set out below:

Significant financial statement reporting issue

Consideration

Going concern
The Group’s assessment of the going concern assumption is based 
on detailed cash flow and covenant forecasts. These are, in turn, 
underpinned by forecasts and assumptions in respect of:

 ` production forecast for the next two years, based on the Group’s 

latest risked production forecast;

 ` the oil price;
 ` opex and capex forecasts based on the approved 2015 budget and 

plan; and

 ` other funding activities including certain asset portfolio activities.

Potential misstatement of oil and gas reserves
The Group has total proved and probable reserves at 31 December 
2014 of 220.0 MMboe. The estimation of these reserves is essential to:

 ` the value of the Company;
 ` assessment of going concern;
 ` impairment testing;
 ` decommissioning liability estimates; and
 ` calculation of depreciation. 

56

The Board regularly reviews the liquidity projections of the Group. 
In the March Audit Committee meeting, management presented 
the liquidity analysis to be presented to the Board, a detailed going 
concern analysis, including sensitivity analysis and stress testing, and 
explanations and justifications for the key assumptions made. The 
external auditor presented its findings on the conclusions drawn.

This analysis was considered and challenged, in detail, by the Audit 
Committee, including the appropriateness of the assumptions made. 
The wording in the Annual Report concerning the going concern 
assumption (see pages 42 and 43) was reviewed and approved for 
recommendation to the Board.

In the March meeting, management presented the Group’s 2P 
reserves, together with the report from Gaffney Cline, our 
reserves auditor.

We considered the scope of the work performed by Gaffney Cline 
and their independence and objectivity. 

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014Significant financial statement reporting issue

Consideration

Impairment of tangible and intangible assets
Significant capital expenditure is incurred on projects and the 
fair value of these projects is a significant area of judgement. 
At 31 December 2014, a total of $3.7 billion had been capitalised 
in respect of tangible oil and gas assets, $0.2 billion in respect 
of exploration & evaluation assets and $0.2 billion in respect of 
goodwill, the recovery of which is dependent upon the expected 
cash flows of the underlying assets. 

Owing to the significant decline in the oil price, impairment testing 
has been performed resulting in an impairment of $0.7 billion of 
tangible oil & gas assets, and $0.1 billion of exploration & evaluation 
assets. No impairment of goodwill was required. 

These impairment tests are underpinned by assumptions regarding:

 ` 2P reserves (as audited by Gaffney Cline);
 ` oil price assumptions (forward curve until 2018 and $85 real 

thereafter);

 ` life of field opex and capex; and
 ` a discount rate driven by EnQuest’s weighted average cost 

of capital.

Adequacy of the decommissioning provision
The Group’s decommissioning provision is carried at $450 million 
at 31 December 2014, which is based on a discounted estimate 
of the future costs and timing to decommissioning the Group’s 
assets. Judgement exists in respect of the estimation of the 
costs involved, the discount rate assumed, and the timing of 
decommissioning activities.

In 2013 the Group commissioned Wood Group PSN to estimate the 
costs involved in decommissioning each of our operated fields and 
facilities. These estimates underpin the 2014 provision. Estimates for 
Kittiwake have been internally developed by appropriately qualified 
personnel, and the estimates in respect of other similar assets have 
informed this exercise.

The estimate for PM8 was also internally developed, but has been 
reviewed for reasonableness by a third party.

For Alba, our non-operated asset, the provision is based on the 
estimates provided by the operator.

Tax
The Group carries deferred tax balances at 31 December 2014 
totalling $1.4 billion of tax assets (primarily comprised of tax losses) 
and $1.9 billion of tax liabilities. Given the complexity of certain tax 
legislation, risk exists in respect of some of the Group’s tax positions.

Accounting for Derivatives
The Group undertook a significant volume of commodity and 
foreign exchange hedging, through a variety of put and call options 
and swaps, and gains totalling $65 million have been recognised 
in the income statement during 2014. Hedge accounting has been 
applied to the put options entered into to hedge 2015 production, 
and gains of $156 million have been deferred in equity. Appropriate 
effectiveness testing and documentation has been prepared 
to support this. All contracts have been marked to market and 
accounted for in accordance with EnQuest’s accounting policy. 

Management presented to the Committee in the March meeting, 
the key assumptions made in respect of impairment testing, and the 
result thereof. The Committee considered and challenged these 
assumptions. Consideration was also given to EY’s view of the work 
performed by management.

We reviewed the report by management summarising the key 
findings and their impact on the provision. We also challenged 
the appropriateness of the reduction in the discount rate from 5% 
to 3%, and were satisfied in this respect. Regard was also given 
to the observations made by EY as to the appropriateness of the 
estimations made.

We received a report by the Group’s Head of Tax, outlining all 
uncertain tax positions, and evaluated the technical arguments 
supporting the position taken by management. We also took into 
account the views of EY as to the adequacy of our tax balances. 

The Committee ensured it was kept informed of the hedging activity 
undertaken during the year. In the March Committee meeting 
we considered the paper prepared by management outlining the 
accounting treatments adopted for the various transactions. In 
assessing the appropriateness of the treatments applied, we also 
considered the findings of EY’s audit in this respect.

57

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014Use of external auditor for non-audit services
The Audit Committee and Board believe that the external auditor’s 
independence and objectivity can potentially be affected by the 
level of non-audit services to EnQuest. However, the Committee 
acknowledges that certain work of a non-audit nature is best 
undertaken by the external auditor. To ensure objectivity and 
independence, the Committee has adopted a policy in relation to the 
provision of non-audit services by its external auditor. As part of this 
process the external auditor provides the Committee with information 
about their policies and processes for maintaining independence 
and monitoring compliance with current regulatory requirements, 
including those regarding the rotation of audit partners and staff. 
EY confirmed their independence and objectivity.

The key features of the non-audit services policy, the full version 
of which is available on our website, are as follows:

 ` a pre-defined list of prohibited services has been established;
 ` a schedule of services where the Group may engage the external 
auditor has been established and agreed by the Committee; 
 ` any non-audit project work which could impair the objectivity or 
independence of the external auditor may not be awarded to the 
external auditor; and

 ` delegated authority by the Audit Committee for the approval of 

non-audit services by the external auditor is as follows:

Authoriser

Chief Financial Officer
Chairman of the Audit Committee
Audit Committee

Value of services per 
non-audit project

Up to £50,000
Up to £100,000
Above £100,000

EY has served as the Company’s auditor since the Company was first 
formed in January 2010, and has conducted each of the Company’s 
external audits since formation. The Committee has adopted the 
recently implemented requirement of the Code that FTSE 350 
companies tender their external audit contracts every 10 years and, in 
line with this policy, will re-tender this function in 2020, if not sooner. 
At the August 2014 meeting the Committee approved the rotation of 
the EY audit partner, which takes effect with the completion of the 
2014 audit. The Committee is aware that the Financial Reporting 
Council is considering the implications of the European Union’s rules 
in respect of mandatory rotation of auditors, and will amend our 
policy to conform when the guidance in the UK is clear.

Raising concerns at work 
Throughout the year, a whistleblowing procedure, titled the ‘Speak 
Up’ reporting line, has been in place across the Group. This allows 
employees and contractors to confidentially raise any concerns 
about business practices through an independently appointed third 
party. Any concerns raised under these arrangements or otherwise 
are investigated promptly by the General Counsel and notified to 
the Chairman of the Audit Committee, with follow-up action being 
taken as soon as practicable thereafter. As noted on page 54 of the 
Corporate Governance Statement there have been a limited number 
of instances where such issues have been elevated and the 
Committee has been kept appraised of how these have 
been addressed. 

AUDIT COMMITTEE  
REPORT CONTINUED

Internal controls
We discharge our responsibility in respect of the Group’s internal 
control environment through directing and reviewing the work 
performed by our outsourced internal auditor, considering the 
reports issued by our external auditor, and through the reports 
issued by management in respect of internal controls. Furthermore, 
we have regard for the other assurance activity performed by the 
Group’s Health, Safety, Environment and Assurance team over the 
operational and HSE risks within the Group. 

In respect of the work performed by the internal auditor, we set 
the internal audit plan each year. When setting the plan we consider 
recommendations from management, the internal auditors, and 
having consideration of the risks impacting the Company, which are 
reviewed by the Board. During 2014 internal audit undertook 
various projects, including:

 ` assisting management in the enhancement of the Group’s Risk 

Management Framework, processes and governance;

 ` a review and assessment as to the maturity of the Kraken project 
definition, appropriateness of scoping and how well the critical 
areas of the project were scoped and comparison to industry 
best practice. It focused on whether management exercises 
effective control to enable the delivery of a major capital project 
across its lifecycle and on the identification of gaps; and

 ` a follow up on findings from a previous HR audit.

In all cases the audit conclusions were that the systems and processes 
were satisfactory. Where control enhancements were identified, the 
Committee ensured that appropriate action was being taken by 
management to implement any agreed improvements.

Internal audit
Since the flotation in 2010, the Group has outsourced its internal 
audit function and following a re-tender process in 2013 PwC were 
appointed to act as our internal auditor. The Committee remains 
satisfied that outsourcing this function, rather than building an 
in-house team, remains the most appropriate action for a company 
of this size. We will continue to keep this under review.

External audit
One of the Committee’s key responsibilities is to monitor the 
performance, objectivity and independence of EY, EnQuest’s 
external auditor, who has been the Group’s auditor since 2010. 
Each year the Committee will review and agree the audit plan and 
the associated fees. The process for reviewing the performance of 
EY involves interviewing key members of the organisation who are 
involved in the audit process, on an annual basis, to obtain feedback 
as to the performance of the external auditor. Additionally, the 
Audit Committee members take into account their own view of the 
performance of EY when determining whether or not to recommend 
their reappointment. 

We formally evaluated the effectiveness of EY during our August 
meeting, and concluded that the Committee continues to be fully 
satisfied with the performance of EY, and that EY continues to be 
both objective and independent. As part of this process, the 
Committee considered the level of non-audit service fees provided 
by EY during the year, the compliance with our policy in respect of 
the provision of non-audit services by the auditor, and the safeguards 
in place to ensure continued independence and objectivity of EY. 

In recommending to reappoint EY for 2015, the Committee took note 
of the reduction from the prior year in the absolute size of non-audit 
fees (from $361,000 in 2013 to $ 226,000 in 2014 (representing 55% of 
the total audit fees)). The Committee continues to expect the ratio of 
non-audit to audit to remain below 1:1 going forward.

58

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014DIRECTORS’  
REMUNERATION REPORT

Dear Shareholder, 
On behalf of the Board I am pleased 
to present EnQuest’s report on its 
remuneration policy and practice for the 
financial year ended 31 December 2014.

The report has three main sections:

1.  Governance of remuneration at EnQuest.
2.  The key elements of the Policy Report which was approved 
by shareholders at the 2014 Annual General Meeting (AGM) 
and took effect from January 2014. This sets out the policy for 
the remuneration of Directors for the current and future 
financial years

3.  The Remuneration Report of the Executive Directors and 

Non-Executive Directors during 2014 which will be subject to 
an advisory shareholder vote at the 2015 AGM.

The Remuneration Committee aims to ensure that the remuneration 
policy supports business strategy, the highest levels of Company 
performance and governance, and through this, the delivery of 
shareholder value. The link between performance and reward is 
central to the remuneration philosophy throughout the Company, 
and the Committee believes that the current remuneration policy 
continues to meet these objectives, and for this reason, we are not 
proposing any changes to the policy for 2015.

Performance and reward for 2014
A good performance against most of the Company’s 2014 
performance scorecard was in contrast to continued delay of the 
Alma/Galia development and in particular to the sharp decline in the 
global price of oil in the second half of the year and its consequential 
negative impact on EnQuest’s share price.

Underlying performance by EnQuest Management against 
Company metrics related to financial results, production, reserves 
additions and progress on the Kraken project was good but was 
offset by the delay to the start-up of the Alma/Galia field and the fall 
in share-price. Management took swift action in response to the 
decline in oil price by cutting current and future operating and 
capital expenditures.

Overall performance by the Company was assessed by the 
Remuneration Committee to be marginally below the challenging 
targets set by the Board. Remuneration outcomes for the Executive 
Directors are therefore commensurate with the assessed level 
of performance.

2014 Bonus
The Executive Directors’ bonus awards are based on a 
combination of financial and operational results and the 
achievement of strategic and personal objectives. Awards of 55% 
of base salary (24% of maximum) for Amjad Bseisu and 81% for 
Jonathan Swinney (36% of maximum) have been made in respect 
of 2014 (paid 2/3rd in cash and 1/3rd in shares). Further details of 
how these awards were determined are set out on pages 65 to 67. 
Despite the external challenges faced by the industry, the 
Committee considers these levels of awards to be appropriate for 
the strong operational results and the delivery against the basket 
of measures set by the Board at the beginning of the year.

2012 Performance Share Plan (‘PSP’) award
The 2012 PSP award, which had a three-year performance period 
ending 31 December 2014, vested at 79.4% of the maximum. Two 
of the three performance conditions were met in full (TSR and 
reserve growth per share), however the threshold production 
growth per share performance condition was partially met (5.6% 
CAGR versus maximum of 10.0% over the three year period). 
Details on the satisfaction of these performance conditions are 
included in the report.

Executive Director remuneration for 2015
Base salaries
For 2015, base salaries have been frozen for the Executive 
Directors in line with approach taken for all employees across 
the Company.

PSP
EnQuest’s policy is that award levels should vary from year to 
year based on Company and individual performance. For PSP 
awards made in 2015, relating to the 2014 performance year, the 
Committee felt that it was appropriate to grant levels of awards 
equivalent to 118% of base salary for both Amjad Bseisu and 
Jonathan Swinney. These grants have been set at 59% of the 
normal maximum award and reflect the Committee’s view of 
company performance in 2014 as well as recognising the recent 
reduction in share price.

The Committee encourages dialogue with the Company’s 
shareholders and will consult with major shareholders ahead of 
any significant future changes to remuneration policy. It remains 
the Committee’s intention that the policy which shareholders 
approved at the 2014 AGM will remain in operation for the full 
three years.

We are committed to transparent communication and I hope you 
find this report of the Committee’s work comprehensive, clear 
and understandable. On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank 
shareholders for their continued support in this challenging time 
for the industry. I hope you will support the resolution to vote for 
this Directors’ Remuneration Report and look forward to receiving 
this at the forthcoming AGM.

Helmut Langanger
Chairman of the Remuneration Committee
18 March 2015

59

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014DIRECTORS’ 
REMUNERATION REPORT
CONTINUED

GOVERNANCE AND APPROACH
General governance
The Directors’ Remuneration Report has been prepared in 
accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 
and Schedule 8 of the Large and Medium-sized Companies and 
Groups (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 as amended in 
August 2013. It also describes the Group’s compliance with the Code 
in relation to remuneration. The Committee has taken account of the 
new requirements for the disclosure of directors’ remuneration and 
guidelines issued by major shareholder bodies when setting the 
remuneration strategy for the Company.

Terms of reference
The Committee’s terms of reference are available on our website or 
on request. The remit of the Committee embraces the remuneration 
strategy and policy for the Executive Directors, Senior Management, 
and in certain matters, for the whole Company. 

Meetings in 2014
The Committee normally meets at least twice per year. During 2014 
it met three times to review and discuss base salary adjustments for 
2014, the setting of Company performance and related annual 
bonus for 2013, the satisfaction of performance conditions relating 
to the 2011 Performance Share Plan (‘PSP’) and the approval of new 
share awards.

Committee members, attendees and advice

Remuneration  
Committee member

Position

Comments

Helmut Langanger

Chairman of the Remuneration 

Independent

Committee

Jock Lennox
Clare Spottiswoode Member from 1 July 2011
Phil Nolan

Member from 22 February 2010 Independent
Independent
Independent

Member from 1 August 2012

Advisers to the Remuneration Committee
The Committee invites individuals to attend meetings to provide 
advice so as to ensure that the Committee’s decisions are informed 
and take account of pay and conditions in the Company as a whole. 
These individuals include:

POLICY SECTION
This section sets out the principles behind our remuneration policies 
and the key elements of the remuneration policy for the Executive 
Directors that was approved by shareholders in May 2014.

The full policy is as disclosed in the 2013 Report and Accounts with 
minor amendments made to elements included in this report to 
update it to reflect the now approved policy.

Remuneration principles
In determining the remuneration policy we reviewed our 
overall remuneration principles to ensure that they were aligned 
to our strategy. EnQuest’s strategic objective is to achieve 
sustainable growth by focusing on exploiting its existing reserves, 
commercialising and developing discoveries, converting contingent 
resources into reserves, and pursuing selective acquisitions.

We also want to ensure that we operate within the appropriate 
culture and, therefore, the principles support and reinforce the 
EnQuest values. Our principles are clear and simple, strengthen the 
link of reward for exceptional performance, as well as emphasise the 
importance of our values.

In summary, the principles underpinning our remuneration 
policy are that remuneration for Executive Directors should be:

1.  Aligned with shareholder’s interests.
2.  Fair, reflective of best practice, and market competitive.
3.  Comprise of fixed pay, currently set below the median 
and variable pay capable of delivering remuneration at 
upper quartile.

4.  Reward performance with a balance of short term and 

long term elements.

Executive Directors
General approach
The remuneration of the Executive Directors comprises base salary, 
participation in an annual bonus plan (paid partly in cash and partly 
in deferred shares), a Long Term Incentive Plan (PSP), private 
medical insurance, and cash in lieu of pension and other benefits.

When setting remuneration for the Executive Directors, the 
Committee takes into account the performance and experience 
of the Director, as well as the Company performance, employment 
conditions for other employees in the Company, and the external 
marketplace. Data is obtained from a variety of independent sources.

 ` the Chairman (Dr. James Buckee) is not a member but attends 

by invitation;

 ` the Chief Executive (Amjad Bseisu);
 ` the Chief Financial Officer (Jonathan Swinney);
 ` the HR Director (Graeme Cook);
 ` a representative of New Bridge Street (part of Aon plc), 

appointed as remuneration adviser by the Committee in 2013; 
and

 ` the Company Secretary acts as secretary to the Committee 

(Stefan Ricketts).

No Director takes part in any decision directly affecting his or her 
own remuneration.

60

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014The following table is a reminder of EnQuest’s remuneration policy which became binding at the 2014 AGM:

COMPONENT

PURPOSE

OPERATION/ 
KEY-FEATURES

SALARY  
AND FEES

 ` To enable the 

recruitment and 
retention of Executive 
Directors who possess 
the appropriate 
experience, 
knowledge, 
commercial acumen 
and capabilities 
required to deliver 
sustained long term 
shareholder value.

 ` Benchmarked against a 
comparator group 
generally of the same size 
and industry as EnQuest 
and who have a similar level 
of market capitalisation.
 ` Salaries are typically below 

market median, and 
reviewed by the 
Remuneration Committee 
in January each year. 

PENSION &  
OTHER BENEFITS

ANNUAL BONUS

 ` Provide market 

competitive employee 
benefits that are in line 
with the marketplace 
and enable EnQuest to 
attract and retain high 
calibre employees, as 
well as providing tax 
efficient provision for 
retirement income.

 ` Incentivises and 

rewards short term 
performance (over no 
more than one 
financial year) through 
the achievement of 
pre-determined annual 
targets which support 
Company strategy and 
shareholder value.

 ` Delivered as cash in lieu of 
benefits and pension, with 
the exception of private 
medical insurance which 
is provided as a benefit 
in kind.

 ` Reviewed annually by the 
Remuneration Committee 
and adjusted to meet 
typical market conditions.
 ` Where required, we would 
offer benefits in line with 
local additional market 
practice.

 ` Two-thirds paid as cash 
with the final third being 
delivered as shares which 
vest after two years, subject 
to continued employment.

 ` The Committee has 
discretion to allow 
Executive Directors to 
receive dividends that 
would otherwise have been 
paid on deferred shares at 
the time of vesting.

APPLICABLE 
PERFORMANCE 
MEASURES

 ` None

 ` None

WHAT IS THE  
MAXIMUM 
POTENTIAL 
OPPORTUNITY?

 ` Salaries are typically 
only increased in line 
with the general 
workforce. Increases 
in excess of the 
general workforce 
may be made where 
there is a significant 
change in duties, 
contribution to 
Company 
performance, 
personal performance 
or external market 
conditions. Typically, 
the conditions and 
pay of all employees 
within the Company 
are factors considered 
by the Committee in 
its review.

 ` The maximum 

allowance that would 
be offered is £50,000 
plus private medical 
insurance, the cost of 
which is determined 
by a third-party 
provider.

 ` Target – 100% 

of salary.

 ` Maximum award – 
225% of salary

 ` The bonus element 

delivered as deferred 
shares has no 
additional 
performance criteria 
and vests after two 
years.

 ` Using a scorecard 

approach, including 
key performance 
objectives such as 
financial, operational, 
project delivery, 
HSE&A targets and 
share price 
performance. These 
are set annually by the 
Remuneration 
Committee, with 
varying weightings. 
Performance against 
key objectives have a 
threshold, target and 
stretch component.

 ` Where the threshold 

level of performance is 
met for each element, 
bonuses will begin to 
accrue on a sliding 
scale from 0%.

61

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014DIRECTORS’  
REMUNERATION REPORT
CONTINUED

COMPONENT

PURPOSE

OPERATION/ 
KEY-FEATURES

WHAT IS THE  
MAXIMUM 
POTENTIAL 
OPPORTUNITY?

APPLICABLE 
PERFORMANCE 
MEASURES

PERFORMANCE  
SHARE PLAN 
(‘PSP’)

 ` Encourages alignment 
with shareholders on 
the longer term 
strategy of the 
Company.

 ` Enhances delivery of 

shareholder returns by 
encouraging higher 
levels of Company 
performance.

 ` Encourages Executives 

to build a 
shareholding.

 ` Normal maximum 
– 200% of salary.

 ` Exceptional maximum 

– 300% of salary 
subject to shareholder 
approval for changes 
to the PSP Share Plan 
rules at a future AGM.

 ` PSP is the only form of 
long term incentive.
 ` Annual award levels are 

determined taking account 
of the performance of the 
Company and the 
Executive Director in the 
prior year.

 ` PSP shares vest over three 
years provided corporate 
performance conditions 
have been achieved.
 ` The Committee has 
discretion to allow 
Executive Directors to 
receive dividends that 
would otherwise have been 
paid on shares at the time 
of vesting.

 ` Awards may take the form 
of conditional awards, nil 
cost options or joint 
interests in shares. Where 
joint interests in shares are 
awarded, the participants 
and the Employment 
Benefit Trust (‘EBT’) acquire 
separate beneficial 
interests in shares in 
the Company.

The metrics used 
currently are:
 ` Relative TSR 
performance.

 ` Production growth 

per share.

 ` Reserves growth 

per share.

 ` The Remuneration 

Committee determines 
the weightings for the 
PSP each year.
 ` 25% of the TSR 

component of the 
award vests for 
threshold performance 

 ` 100% vests for 

achievement of stretch 
targets.

RESTRICTED 
SHARE PLAN 
(‘RSP’)

 ` Awarded upon Initial 
Public Offering (‘IPO’) 
only.

 ` The Committee does 
not intend on granting 
further awards under 
this plan to existing 
Executive Directors, 
but may use on 
recruitment to buy out 
existing awards.

 ` Granted upon IPO, with 
shares due to vest on the 
second, third and fourth 
anniversaries of the date of 
the award.

 ` In future, the plan would 

only be used in the 
recruitment of an Executive 
Director to buy out 
entitlements foregone at 
previous employer.

 ` There are no 
performance 
conditions, save 
continued 
employment, attached 
to these awards.

 ` Awards of 1,609,063 
and 591,324 shares 
were made to Amjad 
Bseisu upon IPO in 
2010.

 ` Awards of 536,354 
and 163,387 shares 
were made to 
Jonathan Swinney 
upon IPO in 2010.
 ` The maximum limit of 

RSP awards that 
would be made at the 
time of recruitment 
would be 300% of 
base salary.

Note: Any awards vesting under the annual bonus or PSP will be subject to clawback in the event of a material misstatement of the 
Company’s accounts, errors in the calculation of performance, or gross misconduct by an individual for up to three years following the 
determination of performance.

62

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014WHAT IS THE  
MAXIMUM 
POTENTIAL 
OPPORTUNITY?

APPLICABLE 
PERFORMANCE 
MEASURES

 ` Limited by the 

Company’s Articles of 
Association.

 ` None

Set as follows for three 
years:

Chairman: £220,000
Director fee: £50,000
Senior Independent 
Director: £10,000
Committee Chairmen: 
£10,000

COMPONENT

PURPOSE

OPERATION/ 
KEY-FEATURES

CHAIRMAN AND 
NON-EXECUTIVE 
DIRECTOR FEES

 ` To attract Non-

Executive Directors of 
the calibre and 
experience required 
for a company of 
EnQuest’s size.

 ` Fees for the Non-Executive 
Directors are reviewed 
annually by the Chairman 
and Executive Directors 
and take into account:
 – typical practice at other 
companies of a similar 
size and complexity to 
EnQuest;

 – the time commitment 

required to fulfil the role; 
and

 – salary increases awarded 
to employees throughout 
the Company.

 ` Non-Executive Directors 
are paid a base fee, with 
additional fees being paid 
to the Senior Independent 
Director and Committee 
Chairmen, to reflect the 
additional time 
commitments and 
responsibilities these roles 
entail.

 ` The Non-Executive 

Directors are not eligible to 
participate in any of the 
Company incentive 
schemes.

 ` The Chairman’s fee is set by 
the Senior Independent 
Director and consists of an 
all-inclusive fee. 

Remuneration outcomes in different performance scenarios
The charts below set out an illustration of the remuneration arrangements for 2015 in line with the remuneration policy described on pages 
61 to 63. The charts provide an illustration of the proportion of total remuneration made up of each component of the remuneration policy 
and the value of each component.

Three scenarios have been illustrated for each Executive Director:

Below threshold performance

Target performance

Maximum performance

 ` fixed remuneration;
 ` zero annual bonus; and
 ` no vesting under the annual bonus plan.
 ` fixed remuneration;
 ` 100% of annual base salary as annual bonus; and 
 ` 30% vesting under the PSP.
 ` fixed remuneration;
 ` 225% of annual base salary as annual bonus; and
 ` 100% vesting under the PSP.

Fixed pay for 2014 will comprise the following elements:

Chief Executive – Amjad Bseisu
Chief Financial Officer – Jonathan Swinney

 ` salary is the base salary with effect from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2015;
 ` cash in lieu of pension is as described in the emoluments table; and
 ` benefits relates to the premium for private medical insurance for each Director.

Salary

£430,000
£280,000

Cash in lieu  
of pension

£40,000
£30,000

Benefits

£1,500
£1,500

63

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014DIRECTORS’  
REMUNERATION REPORT
CONTINUED

The scenarios below do not take into account share price appreciation or dividends.

Chief Executive (£000s)

Chief Financial Officer (£000s)

2,730
%
7
4

%
6
3

%
7
1

1,220
%
7
2

%
5
3

%
8
3

470

%
0
0
1

1,730
%
7
4

%
5
3

%
8
1

800
%
6
2
%
5
3

%
9
3

310
%
0
0
1

Threshold
Performance

Target
Performance

Maximum
Performance

Threshold
Performance

Target
Performance

Maximum
Performance

Note: Fixed pay includes salary and taxable benefit values.

Approach to recruitment remuneration
In the event that the Company appoints a new Executive Director 
either internally or externally, when determining appropriate 
remuneration arrangements, the Committee will take into 
consideration a number of factors (including, but not limited to, 
quantum relating to prior arrangements and the remuneration of 
other Executive Directors in the Company, appropriate benchmarks 
in the industry and the financial condition of the Company). This 
ensures that the arrangements are in the best interests of both the 
Company and its shareholders without paying more than is 
necessary to recruit an executive of the required calibre.

Salaries for new hires (including internal promotions) will be set to 
reflect their skills and experience, the Company’s intended pay 
positioning and the market rate for the role. If it is considered 
appropriate to appoint a new Director on a below market salary 
initially (for example, to allow them to gain experience in the role) 
their salary may be increased to a market level over a number of 
years by way of a series of increases above the general rate of wage 
growth in the Group and inflation.

The ongoing remuneration package for a new Executive Director 
would be set in accordance with the remuneration package offered 
with the terms of the Company’s approved remuneration policy at 
the time. Different performance measures may be set for the year 
of joining the Board for the annual bonus, taking into account the 
individual’s role and responsibilities and the point in the year the 
executive joined.

Benefits and pensions for new appointees to the Board will normally 
be provided in line with those offered to other Executive Directors 
and employees taking account of local market practice, with 
relocation expenses/arrangements provided for if necessary. Tax 
equalisation may also be considered if an executive is adversely 
affected by taxation due to their employment with EnQuest. Legal 
fees and other relevant costs and expenses incurred by the individual 
may also be paid by the Company.

64

Fixed pay
Annual variable pay (annual bonus)
Long term incentives (PSP)

The Committee may make additional awards on appointing 
an Executive Director to ‘buy-out’ remuneration arrangements 
forfeited on leaving a previous employer. Any such payments would 
be based solely on remuneration lost when leaving the former 
employer and would reflect (as far as practicable) the delivery 
mechanism, time horizons and performance requirement attaching 
to that remuneration. The Group’s existing incentive arrangements 
will be used to the extent possible (subject to the relevant plan 
limits), although awards may also be granted outside of these 
schemes, if necessary, and as permitted under the listing rules.

In the case of an internal hire, any outstanding variable pay awarded 
in relation to the previous role will be allowed to pay out according 
to its terms of grant.

On the appointment of a new Chairman or Non-Executive Director, 
the fees will be set taking into account the experience and calibre of 
the individual.

Service contracts
Amjad Bseisu and Jonathan Swinney entered into service 
agreements with the Company which are terminable by either party 
giving not less than 12 months’ written notice. The Company may 
terminate their employment without giving notice by making a 
payment equal to the aggregate of the Executive Directors’ basic 
salary and the value of any contractual benefits for the notice period 
including any accrued but untaken holiday. Such payments may be 
paid monthly and/or subject to mitigation.

Executive Directors

Amjad Bseisu 
Jonathan Swinney 

Date of  
appointment

22 February 2010
29 March 2010

Notice period

12 months
12 months

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014The Chairman and Non-Executive Directors have letters of appointment providing for three months’ notice, the details of which are 
provided below.

Non-Executive Directors’ letters of appointment

Dr James Buckee
Helmut Langanger
Jock Lennox
Clare Spottiswoode
Phil Nolan

Date of  
appointment

Notice period

Initial term of 
appointment

22 February 2010
16 March 2010
22 February 2010
1 July 2011
1 August 2012

3 months
3 months
3 months
3 months 
3 months

2 years
3 years
3 years
3 years
3 years

Policy on payment for loss of office
The Company’s policy is for all Executive Directors to have contracts of service which can be terminated by either the Director concerned or 
the Company on giving 12 months’ notice of termination. In the event of termination by the Company (other than as a result of a change of 
control), the Executive Directors would be entitled to loss of basic salary and cash benefit allowance for the notice period. Such payments 
may be made monthly and would be subject to mitigation. Depending on the circumstances of termination, the Executive Directors may be 
entitled, or the Remuneration Committee may exercise its discretion to allow the Executive Directors, to receive a pro-rated proportion of their 
outstanding awards under the long term share incentive plans. Vesting would normally take place at the end of the original vesting period.

Where Executive Directors leave the Company with good leaver status, and they have an entitlement to unvested shares granted under the 
PSP, the performance conditions associated with each award outstanding would remain in place and are typically tested at the end of the 
original performance period. Shares would typically then vest on their original due date in the proportion to the satisfied performance 
conditions and are normally pro-rated for time.

Annual bonus would not typically be paid to Executive Directors when leaving the Company; however, in good leaver circumstances the 
Committee has the discretion to pay a pro-rated bonus in cash, in consideration for performance targets achieved in the year. Deferred 
bonus shares held by good leavers may, at the Committee’s discretion, vest on a pro-rata basis.

The Non-Executive Directors do not have service contracts but their terms are set out in a letter of appointment. Their terms of 
appointment may be terminated by either party giving three months’ notice in writing. During the notice period the Non-Executive Director 
will continue to receive their normal fee.

ANNUAL REPORT ON REMUNERATION FOR 2014 (INFORMATION SUBJECT TO AUDIT)
Directors’ remuneration: the ‘single figure’
In this section of the report we have set out the payments made to the Executive and Non-Executive Directors of EnQuest during 2014 and 
2013 and it includes a single total figure for each Director:

Director

Amjad Bseisu
Jonathan Swinney

Total

Director

Amjad Bseisu
Jonathan Swinney

Total

2014 ‘single figure’ of remuneration – £000s

Salary  
and fees  
2014

All taxable 
benefits  
2014 

430
280

710

1
1

2

Annual  
bonus 
20141

236
228

464

LTIP 
20142

198
128

326

2013 ‘single figure’ of remuneration – £000s

Salary  
and fees  
2013

All taxable 
benefits 
2013

410
264

674

1
1

2

Annual  
bonus 
20131

410
267

677

LTIP 
20134

500
279

779

Pension 
20143

40
30

70

Pension 
20133

40
30

70

Total for 
2014

905
667

1,572

Total for  
2013

1,361
841

2,202

Notes:
1.  Annual bonus was based on base salary levels and payment was made in respect of the full financial year. The amount stated is the full amount (including the portion deferred). 

One third of the annual bonus for Amjad Bseisu and Jonathan Swinney is paid in EnQuest PLC shares, deferred for two years, and subject to continued employment. 

2.  PSP awarded on 18 April 2012 vested on 19 April 2015. The LTIP value shown in the 2014 single figure is calculated by taking the number of performance shares that have vested 
(79.4% of the performance conditions were achieved) multiplied by the average value of the EnQuest share price between 1 October 2014 and 31 December 2014, as the share 
price on 19 April 2015 was not known at the time of this report.

3.  Cash in lieu of pension and other benefits.
4.  PSP awarded on 18 April 2011 vested on 19 April 2014. The LTIP value shown in the 2013 single figure is calculated by taking the number of performance shares that have vested 

(66.7% of the performance conditions were achieved) multiplied by the share price on that date. The equivalent number in the 2013 report was estimated using the average value 
of the EnQuest share price between 1 October 2014 and 31 December 2014, as the share price on 19 April 2014 was not known at the time of that report.

65

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014DIRECTORS’  
REMUNERATION REPORT
CONTINUED

Arrangements for Nigel Hares
During 2014, Nigel Hares continued to provide consultancy support as an adviser to the Chief Executive since stepping down from the Board 
on 9 November 2012. The total amount of payments made to Nigel Hares in relation to his consultancy services in 2014 was £298,250.

The remuneration of the Non-Executive Directors for the years 2013 and 2014 is made up as follows:

Director

Dr James Buckee
Helmut Langanger
Jock Lennox
Clare Spottiswoode
Phil Nolan

Total

Director

Dr James Buckee
Helmut Langanger
Jock Lennox
Clare Spottiswoode
Phil Nolan

Total

2014 ‘single figure’  
of remuneration – £000s

Salary  
and fees 
2014

All taxable 
benefits 
2014

220
70
60
50
50

450

–
–
–
–
–

–

2013 ‘single figure’  
of remuneration – £000s

Salary  
and fees 
2013 

All taxable 
benefits 
2013

200
53
53
45
45

396

–
–
–
–
–

–

Total for 
2014

220
70
60
50
50

450

Total for 
2013

200
53
53
45
45

396

Annual bonus
The Executive Directors’ annual bonus for 2014 was based fully on the Company performance contract for both Amjad Bseisu and Jonathan 
Swinney (who also had strategic and functional objectives comprising his individual performance contract).

The Committee carefully assessed the achievement of objectives against the Company performance contract, and Jonathan Swinney’s 
individual performance contract, to determine the overall level of annual bonus for each Executive Director.

The Remuneration Committee consider the Company’s annual bonus targets to be commercially sensitive, and has therefore chosen not to 
disclose them.

Weighting

Measure

15%

25%

10%

20%

20%

10%

EBITDA
Opex/BOE
Capex
US Bond Issue

2014 Production

2P Net Reserve Additions

Start-up Date

Project Capex

Absolute & relative performance

Override

Basket of leading & lagging indicators

Performance outcome

Below  
threshold

On  
Target

At or above 
stretch



















Performance Contract EnQuest (Amjad Bseisu)

Category

Financial

Production

Reserves

Alma/Galia

Kraken

Share Price

HSEA

66

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014Performance Contract Jonathan Swinney

Category

Financial

Strategic Development

Organisation

External Relations

Cost & Value

HSEA

Weighting

Measure

30%

20%

20%

10%

15%

5%

EBITDA
Opex/BOE
Capex

US Bond Issue

Finance Team capability

Shareholder register

Cost optimisation

Basket of indicators

Performance outcome

Below  
threshold

On  
Target

At or above 
stretch















As such, a Company performance marginally below ‘Target’ was achieved by the Company, and an individual performance at ‘Target’ by 
Jonathan Swinney. This resulted in the following annual bonus levels being achieved:

Name

Amjad Bseisu
Jonathan Swinney

Annual bonus 
for 2014

% of  
base salary

% of  
maximum

£235,500
£228,000

55%
81%

24%
36%

Two-thirds of the amounts above have been paid in cash in March 2015. The remaining one-third was converted to EnQuest shares on the 
date of the award and deferred until March 2017. There are no additional performance conditions attached to this deferral as they have 
already been met.

PSP
The performance period for the 2012 PSP award completed on 31 December 2014 and the award vested in April 2015. The results of the 
performance conditions for the 2012 PSP award are as follows:

Grant date

Vesting date

Performance period

EnQuest TSR1

Production 

Reserves 

Total award

19 Apr 2012

19 Apr 2015

1 Jan 2012 – 31 Dec 2014

33.4%

33.3%

33.3%

100%

Performance conditions & weighting

Base level

Threshold

Maximum

Actual performance 
achieved

–

23,698 Boepd

115.2 MMboe

Median (19th position)

27,433 Boepd

126.7 MMboe

Upper quartile  
(9th position)

31,542 Boepd

172.8 MMboe

Above upper quartile  

27,895 Boepd

220.0 MMboe

(7th position)

Percentage meeting performance conditions & total vest

100%

38.2%

100%

79.4%

Note:
1  EnQuest TSR of -35.4% for the performance period was in the upper quartile (-40%) of the comparator group companies.

The table below shows the number of nil cost options that vested and their value at 31 December 2014. This figure is calculated taking the 
average closing share price on each day of the period 1 October 2014 – 31 December 2014 and is used as the basis for reporting the 2014 
‘single figure’ of remuneration.

Name

Amjad Bseisu
Jonathan Swinney

No. of  
shares

391,790
254,663

Portion  
vesting

No. of shares  
vesting

Average  
share price

79.4%

311,081
202,202

£0.6355

Value at  
31 Dec 2014 
£’000s

198
128

2015 PSP Awards
After due consideration of business performance in 2014, the Remuneration Committee will award the Executive Directors the following 
performance shares in April 2015.

The level of awards reflect 74% of the normal maximum and are lower than the awards made for the previous year (100% of maximum for 
Amjad Bseisu and 91% of maximum for Jonathan Swinney).

Amjad Bseisu
Jonathan Swinney

Face value  
(% of salary)

118%
118%

Face value  
as at 31 Dec 
2014

£509,000
£332,000

Performance period

1 Jan 2015 – 31 Dec 2017

67

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014DIRECTORS’  
REMUNERATION REPORT
CONTINUED

Summary of performance measures and targets
The 2010 PSP share awards granted in April 2015 have three sets of performance conditions associated with them, over a three year 
financial performance period:

 ` 30% of the award relates to TSR against a comparator group of 26 oil and gas companies listed on the FTSE 350, FTSE ALL-Share AIM 

Top 100 and Stockholm NASDAQ OMX;

 ` 20% relates to production growth per share; and
 ` 50% relates to reserves growth per share.

PSP vesting schedule

Below threshold

Threshold

Target

Maximum

*  Compound Annual Growth

Performance target base levels

Year of grant

2011
2012
2013
2014

2015

Relative TSR

Production growth per share  
(over three years)

Reserves growth per share

Performance

Vesting

Performance

Vesting

Performance

Vesting

Below 
median

0%

Less than 
12% C.A.G.*

0%

Median

25% 12% C.A.G.*

30%

–

–

–

–

Upper 
quartile

100% 20% C.A.G.*

100%

Less than 
100% of 
base

100% of 
base

105% of 
base

110% of 
base

0%

50%

75%

100%

Production  
growth  
per share  
base level

Reserves  
growth  
per share  
base level

21,074 Boepd
88.5 MMboe
23,698 Boepd 115.2 MMboe
22,802 Boepd 128.5 MMboe
24,222 Boepd 194.8 MMboe

27,895 Boepd 220.0 MMboe

The comparator group companies for the TSR performance condition relating to the 2014 PSP award were as follows:

FTSE 350

Afren
Cairn Energy
Nostrum
Ophir Energy
Premier Oil
Soco International
Tullow Oil

FTSE ALL-Share

Exillion
Hardy Oil & Gas
Salamander

FTSE AIM – Top 100

Stockholm NASDAQ OMX

Amerisur Resources
Faroe Petroleum
Igas Energy
Ithaca Energy
Lekoil
Parkmead Group
Petroceltic International
Quadrise Fuels
Rockhopper Exploration
Xcite Energy

Africa Oil
Blackpearl Resources
Lundin Petroleum
PA Resources
Shelton Petroleum
Tethys Oil

68

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014The number of PSP awards outstanding as at 31 December 2014 are as follows:

Grant date – April 2012
Amjad Bseisu
Jonathan Swinney

Grant date – April 2013
Amjad Bseisu
Jonathan Swinney

Grant date April – 2014
Amjad Bseisu
Jonathan Swinney

No. of shares 
awarded

Performance period

Performance conditions  
(& weighting)

Vesting date

391,701
254,663

490,000
300,000

604,990
368,147

1 Jan 2012 – 31 Dec 2014

1 Jan 2013 – 31 Dec 2015

1 Jan 2014 – 31 Dec 2016

TSR (34%)
Production growth (33%)
Reserves additions (33%)

TSR (34%)
Production growth (33%)
Reserves additions (33%)

TSR (34%)
Production growth (33%)
Reserves additions (33%)

19 April 2015

29 April 2016

22 April 2017

Pension and benefits
Executive Directors do not participate in the EnQuest Pension Plan and instead receive cash in lieu. Amjad Bseisu receives an annual 
allowance of £40,000 and Jonathan Swinney an amount of £30,000.

The Committee determined that these allowances should not be increased for 2015.

Statement of Directors’ shareholding and share interests
The interests of the Directors in the share capital of the Company as at 31 December 2013 are shown below:

RSP

Amjad Bseisu

Jonathan Swinney

31 December1 
2013

804,531
295,662

268,176
81,693

Granted

Vested2

Lapsed

–
–

–
–

–
–

–
–

–
–

–
–

31 December 
2014

804,531
295,662

268,176
81,693

Vesting period

Expiry date

1 Apr 2012 – 1 Apr 2014
19 Apr 2012 – 19 Apr 2014

31 Mar 2020
18 April 2020

1 Apr 2012 – 1 Apr 2014 31 March 2020
18 April 2020

19 Apr 2012 – 19 Apr 2014

Notes:
1.  Nil cost shares under the RSP vested in April 2012 and April 2013 but were not exercised. They were rolled over in line with the Plan rules.
2.  No RSP shares are shown to have vested during 2014 as the Remuneration Committee determined in March 2014 that Executive Directors would not be able to exercise 

more than 50% of vested shares until the Alma/Galia field started production.

PSP

Amjad Bseisu

Jonathan Swinney

31 December 
2012

583,090
391,7902
490,000

604,990

324,975
254,6632
300,000

368,147

Granted

Vested1

Lapsed

31 December
 2014

Vesting period

Expiry date

–
–
–

–

–
–
–

–

194,363
–
–

–

108,325
–
–

–

194,364
–
–

194,363
391,790
490,000

19 Apr 2011 – 19 Apr 2014
19 Apr 2012 – 19 Apr 2015
29 Apr 2013 – 29 Apr 2016

18 April 2021
18 April 2022
28 April 2023

–

604,990

22 Apr 2014 – 22 Apr 2017

22 April 2024

108,325
–
–

108,325
254,663
300,000

1 Apr 2012  –  1 Apr 2014
19 Apr 2012 – 19 Apr 2015
29 Apr 2013 – 29 Apr 2016

18 April 2021
18 April 2022
28 April 2023

–

368,147

22 Apr 2014 – 22 Apr 2017

22 April 2024

Notes:
1.  Two-thirds of the Performance Conditions of the 2011 PSP award were achieved, however, only 50% of this amount is shown to have vested during 2014 due to the 

Remuneration Committee determining in March 2014 that Executive Directors would not be able to exercise more than 50% of vested shares until the Alma/Galia field 
started production

2  As shown on page 67, 79.4% of this award will vest on 19 April 2015.

The tables above show the maximum number of shares that could be released if awards were to vest in full. The PSP awards first vest on 
the third anniversary of the award date, subject to the achievement of performance. The temporary cap applied at the discretion of the 
Remuneration Committee on only 50% of the Executive Directors vested shares being made available for exercise under the RSP and PSP 
is anticipated to be rescinded upon the successful start-up of the Alma/Galia field.

Amjad Bseisu
Jonathan Swinney
Dr James Buckee
Helmut Langanger
Jock Lennox
Clare Spottiswoode
Phil Nolan 

Legally owned 
(number of 
shares)

Value of legally 
owned shares  
as % of salary

71,405,331
62,033
3,488,424
–
20,000
19,560
150,000

10,553%
14%
–
–
–
–
–

Unvested and 
subject to 
performance 
conditions 
under the PSP

1,681,144
1,031,135
–
–
–
–
–

Vested but  
not exercised 
under the RSP

Unvested  
under the  
RSP

Sharesave

1,100,193
349,870
–
–
–
–
–

1,100,194
349,871
–
–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–
–
–
–

Total at  
31 Dec 
2014

75,286,862
1,792,909
3,488,424
–
20,000
19,560
150,000

69

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014DIRECTORS’  
REMUNERATION REPORT
CONTINUED

Total shareholder return and CEO total remuneration (Information not subject to audit)
The following graph shows the Company’s performance, measured by total shareholder return compared with the performance of the FTSE 
250 Index, FTSE 350 Oil & Gas Producers Index and the AIM Oil & Gas Top 100 Index also measured by total shareholder return. The FTSE 
350 Oil & Gas Index and AIM Oil & Gas Top 100 have been selected for this comparison as it is one of the indices used by the Company for 
the performance criterion for the 2010 PSP.

200

175

150

125

100

75

50

25

0

EnQuest
FTSE 250
FTSE 350 Oil & Gas
AIM Oil & Gas

56%

(16)%

(54)%
(64)%

Apr 10

Oct 10

Apr 11

Oct 11

Apr 12

Oct 12

Apr 13

Oct 13

Apr 14

Oct 14

Note: Rebased to 100

Historical Chief Executive pay
The table below sets out details of the Chief Executive’s pay for the current year and the previous four years and the payout of incentive 
awards as a proportion of the maximum opportunity for each period. The Chief Executive’s pay is calculated as per the ‘single figure’ of 
remuneration as shown on page 65.

During this time, Amjad Bseisu’s total remuneration has been:

‘Single figure’ of total remuneration
Annual bonus as a % of maximum
Long term Incentive vesting rate as a % of maximum

2010

3,004
80%
–

2011

731
42%
–

£’000s

2012

910
60%
–

2013

1,361
50%
67%

2014

905
24%
79%

Notes:
1.  Company was formed on 5th April 2010. 2010 was a partial year.
2.  2010 ‘Single Figure’ includes the value of RSP awards made at the time of IPO which will vest, subject to continued employment on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th anniversaries 

of grant.

3.  The 2013 ‘Single Figure’ has been restated to reflect the actual share price on the date the long term incentives vested.

Relative spend on pay
The table below shows the actual expenditure of the Group on total employee pay, as well as profitability and distributions to shareholders, 
and change between the current and previous years:

Relative spend on pay

EBITDA
Distribution to shareholders
Total employee pay

How the Chief Executive’s pay relates to the workforce

Change between 2013 and 2014

Amjad Bseisu
All employees (average)

70

2013 
US$M

621
0
108

2014 
US$M

581
0
107

Base Salary  
£’000

Bonus  
£’000

Benefits  
£’000

%

3.8
3.4

%

–14
– 4

%

0
10

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014Statement of implementation of remuneration policy in 2014
Base salary and 2015 pay review
As stated in the annual statement to this report, the remuneration for the Executive Directors is geared towards variable pay, with base 
salaries currently set around the lower quartile benchmark for the oil and gas industry and comparable sized companies. In the view of the 
Committee it is therefore important to ensure that the base salaries of the Executive Directors are reviewed annually and that any increase 
reflects the change in scale and complexity of the role as the Company grows as well as the performance of the Executive Director.

The table below shows the change to salaries for 2015:

Name

Amjad Bseisu
Jonathan Swinney

Salary for 2014

Salary for 2015

% increase

£430,000
£280,000

£430,000
£280,000

0.0%
0.0%

In line with the approach taken for all employees salaries for both Amjad Bseisu and Jonathan Swinney were not increased due to the 
challenging market conditions. 

Annual bonus
The annual bonus scheme for 2015 is unchanged in terms of structure:

 ` Executive Directors (and other Executive Management) will have threshold, target, and stretch performance levels performance 

objectives attributed to key performance objectives;

 ` Amjad Bseisu’s bonus will be determined solely by the performance of the Company. Jonathan Swinney’s will include a modifier based 

upon individual performance;

 ` maximum levels of award for the Executive Directors can be up to 225% of annual base salary applicable in the year of performance; and
 ` stretching targets continue to apply at maximum.

The 2015 metrics and weightings, which determine will affect the level of short term incentive awards for the Directors are set out below:

Company 2015 performance measures scorecard

Category

Financial targets
Production
Reserves
Alma/Galia 
Kraken
EnQuest share price performance

Weighting

20%
25%
5%
20%
20%
10%

Notes:
1.  Precise targets are commercially sensitive and are not being disclosed at this time.
2.  Performance in Health, Safety, Environment and Assurance is central to EnQuest’s overall results. This category is used as an overlay on overall Company performance.
3.  Amjad Bseisu’s 2015 performance measures scorecard is the same as the Company scorecard.

Jonathan Swinney 2015 performance measures scorecard

Financial results
Group Financing
Organisation
Shareholders

Weighting

20%
50%
20%
10%

The choice of performance targets for 2015, and their respective weightings, reflects the Committee’s belief that any short term annual 
bonus should be tied both to the overall performance of the Company and the individual’s performance.

The annual bonus model used for the Executive Directors, and all employees in the Company, is shown below.

Target annual bonus

Company

Individual

Performance level

Multiplier

Individual performance

Multiplier

Stretch performance
On-target performance
Below-target performance

1.2–1.5
0.8–1.2
0.0–0.8

Exceed target
On target
Below target

1.2–1.5
0.8–1.2
0.0–0.8

Performance share awards
2014 PSP awards
After due consideration of business performance in 2014, and the performance of the Executive Directors, as well as other factors, the 
Remuneration Committee decided to award grants equal to 118% of salary to both Amjad Bseisu and Jonathan Swinney. These awards will 
be granted in April 2015.

71

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014DIRECTORS’  
REMUNERATION REPORT
CONTINUED

The weightings approved by the Remuneration Committee were 
incorrectly shown and are as follows:

 ` 30% of the award relates to TSR;
 ` 50% relates to production growth per share; and
 ` 20% relates to reserves growth per share.

Summary of performance measures and targets
The PSP share awards granted in April 2015 have three sets of performance conditions associated with them over a three year financial period:

 ` 30% of the award relates to TSR against a comparator group of 26 oil and gas companies listed on the FTSE 350, FTSE All –Share, AIM 

Top 100 and Stockholm NASDAQ OMX; 

 ` 20% relates to production growth per share; and
 ` 50% relates to reserves growth per share.

PSP vesting schedule

Threshold

Target
Maximum

Relative TSR

Performance

Below median
Median
–
Upper quartile

Vesting

0%
25%
–
100%

Production growth per share (over three years)

Reserves growth per share

Performance

Less than 12% C.A.G.*
12% C.A.G.*
–
20% C.A.G.*

Vesting

0%
30%
–
100%

Performance

Less than 100% of base
100% of base
105% of base
110% of base

Vesting

0%
50%
75%
100%

*  Compound Annual Growth

Performance target base levels

Year of grant

2015 proposed

TSR comparator group

FTSE 350

Afren
Cairn Energy
Nostrum
Ophir Energy
Premier Oil
Soco International
Tullow Oil

FTSE ALL-Share

Exillion
Hardy Oil & Gas
Salamander

Production growth  
per share base level

27,895 Boepd

Net 2P Reserves growth 
 per sharebase level

220.0 MMboe

FTSE AIM – Top 100

Stockholm NASDAQ OMX

Amerisur Resources
Faroe Petroleum
Igas Energy
Ithaca Energy
Lekoil
Parkmead Group
Petroceltic International
Quadrise Fuels
Rockhopper Exploration
Xcite Energy

Africa Oil
Blackpearl Resources
Lundin Petroleum
PA Resources
Shelton Petroleum
Tethys Oil

Consideration by the Directors of matters relating to Directors’ remuneration
During 2014 New Bridge Street (part of Aon plc) continued to provide advice to the Remuneration Committee on appropriate types and 
levels of award for the Directors. New Bridge Street had been selected by the Chairman of the Remuneration Committee during 2013 on 
the basis of previous experience and marketplace reputation.

The Committee satisfied itself that the advice given was objective and independent by reviewing it against other companies in EnQuest’s 
comparator group. New Bridge Street is also a signatory to the Remuneration Consultants Group (‘RCG’) Code of Conduct which sets out 
guidelines for managing conflicts of interest. New Bridge Street does not provide any other services to the Company. The fees paid to New 
Bridge Street totalled £11,748 (excluding VAT) and were charged on the basis of the number of hours worked.

Statement of voting at the Annual General Meeting
The table below summarises the voting at the AGM held on 28 May 2014. The Group is committed to on-going shareholder dialogue and 
takes an active interest in voting outcomes. Where there are substantial votes against resolutions in relation to Directors’ remuneration, the 
reasons for any such vote will be sought, and any actions in response will be detailed here.

The following table sets out the actual voting in respect of the approval of the Remuneration Report:

Number of votes 
cast for

Percentage of 
votes for

Number of votes 
cast against

Percentage 
of votes cast 
against

Total votes cast

Number of votes 
withheld

438,025,705

445,339,754

98.67

97.99

5,912,386

9,113,580

1.33

443,938,541

15,867,495

2.01

454,453,334

5,352,702

Remuneration Policy

Remuneration Report

Helmut Langanger
Chairman of the Remuneration Committee
18 March 2015

72

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014NOMINATION 
COMMITTEE REPORT 

Nomination Committee membership
The Nomination Committee remains unchanged from last year and 
currently comprises the Chairman, four independent Non-Executive 
Directors and, to ensure input from the executives, the Chief 
Executive. The membership of the Nomination Committee, 
together with appointment dates and attendance at meetings, 
is set out below:

Member

James Buckee (Chairman)
Amjad Bseisu
Clare Spottiswoode
Helmut Langanger
Jock Lennox
Phil Nolan

Date appointed  
Committee member

Attendance  
at meetings 
during the year

22 February 2010
22 February 2010
1 July 2011
16 March 2010
22 February 2010
1 August 2012

1/1
1/1
1/1
1/1
1/1
1/1

Main responsibilities
The main responsibilities of the Committee are to:

Dear Shareholder, 
The main work of the Nomination 
Committee is to ensure that the Board 
has the appropriate balance of skills, 
expertise and experience in order to 
support the strategy of the Company. 
We achieve this by continuously 
reviewing the Board composition 
and skills and ensuring that strong 
succession planning is in place.

Currently the Board consists of five Non-Executive Directors and 
two Executive Directors, who collectively bring a diverse mix of 
skills and experience to the Company and collaborate to form a 
strong leadership.

During 2014, the Board has continued to remain stable, with no 
changes made to composition. The Committee has spent time 
this period focusing on succession planning for the Board and 
Executive Committee, reviewing the balance of skills currently on 
the Board and also considering gender diversity issues. 

Next year we shall continue to focus on succession planning of 
both the Executive and Non-Executive Directors, to ensure that 
we have strong contingency plans in place and continue to have a 
broad mix of skills and expertise within the Board. 

Dr James Buckee
Chairman of the Nomination Committee
18 March 2015 

 ` review the size, structure and composition of the Board in order 
to recommend changes to the Board and to ensure the orderly 
succession of Directors;

 ` formalise succession planning and the process for new Director 

appointments;

 ` identify, evaluate and recommend candidates for appointment as 
Directors taking into account the balance of knowledge, skills 
and experience required to serve the Board; and
 ` keep under review the outside directorships and time 

commitments expected from the Non-Executive Directors.

The Nomination Committees’ full terms of reference can be 
found on the Company’s website, www.enquest.com, under 
Corporate Governance. 

Appointment of Directors
We apply a formal, rigorous and transparent procedure for 
appointments of new Directors to the Board, and ensure 
independence by using an external consultancy services firm, which 
has no connection with the Company. The Committee thoroughly 
reviews each candidate in terms of the balance of skills, knowledge 
and level of independence they would bring to the Board. The 
Committee also gives careful consideration to other existing 
commitments a candidate may have and whether they will be able to 
devote the appropriate amount of time in order to fully meet what is 
expected of them. Once the Committee has identified a suitable 
candidate a recommendation is made to the Board for appointment.

73

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014 
Priorities for the coming year
The main focus of the Committee in 2015 will be to strengthen the 
composition of the Board by appointing a Non-Executive Director 
with significant experience in capital projects within the oil and gas 
industry. The Company is currently working with Heidrick & 
Struggles, a reputable executive search firm, to identify suitably 
qualified candidates with the depth of experience necessary to 
complement the existing skills that the Board have in this key area.

Other priorities include ensuring that the Company’s organisation 
is both efficient and capable in its principal activities, as well as 
undertaking the annual review of Chief Executive and other Senior 
Management succession plans. 

Re-election to the Board
Following a formal review of the effectiveness of the Board, 
the Nomination Committee confirms that it is satisfied with the 
performance and of the time commitment of each Non-Executive 
Director throughout the year. We remain confident that each of 
them is in a position to discharge their duties to the Company in the 
coming year and to continue to bring the necessary skills required 
to the Board. Detailed biographies for each Director, including their 
skills and external appointments, can be found on pages 46 and 47. 
As detailed in the 2015 Notice of AGM, all Directors will stand for 
re-election. 

Conflicts of interest
The Board operates a policy to identify and, where appropriate, 
manage conflicts or potential conflicts of interest with the 
Company’s interests. In accordance with the Directors’ interests 
provisions in the Companies Act 2006, all the Directors are required 
to submit details to the Company Secretary of any situations which 
may give rise to a conflict, or potential conflict, of interest. The 
Board monitors and reviews potential conflicts of interest on a 
regular basis.

NOMINATION 
COMMITTEE REPORT 
CONTINUED

Committee activities for the year
The Nomination Committee met once in 2014 and its key 
activities included: 

 ` Succession planning – The Committee focused on succession 
planning, so whilst the Company is still relatively young, and it 
is not felt that the independence of Non-executive Directors is 
compromised, we spent time reviewing the succession plans 
for the Board. The Nomination Committee also focused on the 
succession of Senior Management, to ensure that the Board, 
and principally the Chief Executive, remain fully supported in 
the implementation of the Company strategy. The Board and 
Nomination Committee remain satisfied that the individuals 
currently fulfilling key Senior Management positions in the Group 
have the requisite depth and breadth of skills, knowledge and 
experience to ensure that orderly succession to the Board and 
Executive Committee can take place. We will continue to work 
closely with the Chief Executive and the HR Director to ensure 
that we are recruiting and developing Board members and 
Executive Management with all of these attributes. 

 ` Skills and expertise analysis – We conducted an analysis of 

Board skills and experience this period to identify any potential 
gaps, the results of which are outlined below. We are pleased 
to report that following our analysis the Board and Nomination 
Committee remain satisfied that we have the correct balance of 
skills, expertise and experience needed in order to effectively 
support the Company’s objectives and strategy. 

 ` Review of diversity policy – the Board has followed the progress 
made with regards to the recommendations of the 2011 Lord 
Davies report ‘Women on Boards’, and we have reviewed our 
policy on gender diversity. Currently the Board consists of two 
Executive Directors and five Non-Executive Directors. Six of the 
Board members are male and one is female. Following a review 
of our approach to gender diversity, we confirm that whilst we 
work hard to ensure that we recruit from a diverse background 
of candidates, not just in relation to gender, we will continue to 
recruit the best candidate available for the job, without the Board’s 
decision being influenced by a need to fulfil certain quotas. We 
believe that our gender statistics are representative of the 
demographics of the wider oil and gas industry.

Board skills and experience:

Oil and Gas experience
Engineering
Finance
Capital Markets
Regulatory and governance
HSE&A
Operational and strategic

70%
60%
25%
25%
15%
65%
90%

74

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014DIRECTOR’S REPORT

The Directors of EnQuest present 
their Annual Report together with the 
Group and Company audited financial 
statements for the year ended 
31 December 2014. These will be laid 
before shareholders at the AGM to be 
held on Wednesday 27 May 2015.

EnQuest remains committed to fair treatment of people with 
disabilities in relation to job applications: full consideration is 
given to applications from disabled persons where the candidate’s 
particular aptitudes and abilities are consistent with adequately 
meeting the requirement of the job. Additionally, we offer 
opportunities to disabled employees for training, career 
development and promotion. In the event of an existing employee 
becoming disabled, it is EnQuest policy to provide continuing 
employment whenever practicable in the same or an alternative 
position and to provide appropriate training to achieve this aim. 

Directors’ interests
The interests of the Directors in the Ordinary shares of the Company 
are shown below:

Name

Amjad Bseisu1
Dr James Buckee
Helmut Langanger
Jock Lennox
Phil Nolan
Clare Spottiswoode
Jonathan Swinney

At  
31 December  
2013

At  
31 December  

2014

At 
18 March
2015 

70,797,182 71,405,331
3,488,424
0
20,000
150,000
19,560
62,033

1,222,327
0
0
0
0
62,033

71,405.331
3,488,424
0
20,000
150,000
19,560
520,228

Future developments
A summary of the future developments of the Company are 
provided within the Strategic Report on page 21.

Note:
1.  The shares are held by Double A Limited, a discretionary trust in which the 

extended family of Amjad Bseisu has a beneficial interest.

Corporate governance statement
In accordance with the Financial Services Authority’s Disclosure and 
Transparency Rules (DTR) 7.2.1, the disclosures required by DTR 
7.2.2 and DTR 7.2.7 may be found in the Corporate Governance 
Statement on pages 52 to 54.

Results and dividends
The Group’s financial statements for the year ended 31 December 
2014 are set out on pages 78 to 124.

The Company has not declared or paid any dividends since 
incorporation on 29 January 2010 and does not have current 
intentions to pay dividends in the near future. Any future payment 
of dividends is expected to depend on the earnings and financial 
condition of the Company and such other factors as the Board of 
Directors of the Company consider appropriate.

Directors
The Directors’ biographical details are set out on pages 46 and 47. 
All of the current Directors served throughout the year. 

All the Directors will offer themselves for re-election at the AGM on 
27 May 2015, in accordance with the UK Corporate Governance Code 
provision for annual re-election of all directors of FTSE 350 companies.

Employee involvement 
EnQuest operates a framework for employee information and 
consultation which complies with the requirements of the Information 
and Consultation of Employees Regulation 2005. Employees are 
informed about significant business issues and other matters of 
concern via regular Town Hall meetings, by using webcasts on 
EnQuest’s intranet, as well as face to face briefing meetings at 
each business location. Appropriate consultations take place with 
employees when business change is undertaken. EnQuest offers 
employees the opportunity to participate directly in the success 
of the Company and employees are encouraged to invest in the 
Company through participation in a number of share schemes such 
as the Save as You Earn (SAYE) Share Scheme which is open to all 
EnQuest employees. 

Directors’ indemnity provisions
Under the Company’s Articles, the Directors of the Company may be 
indemnified out of the assets of the Company against certain costs, 
charges, expenses, losses or liabilities which may be sustained or 
incurred in or about the execution of their duties. Such qualifying 
third party indemnity provision remains in force as at the date of 
approving the Directors’ Report and the Company has provided 
indemnities to the Directors in a form consistent with the limitations 
imposed by law.

Share capital
The Company’s share capital during the year consisted of Ordinary 
shares of £0.05 each (Ordinary shares). Each Ordinary share carries 
one vote. There were 802,660,757 Ordinary shares in issue at the end 
of the year (2014: 802,660,757). All of the Company’s issued Ordinary 
shares have been fully paid up. Further information regarding the 
rights attaching to the Company’s Ordinary shares can be found in 
note 18 to the financial statements on page 106. No person has any 
special rights with respect to control of the Company.

The Company did not purchase any of its own shares during 2014 
or up to and including 18 March 2015, being the date of this 
Directors’ Report.

Company share schemes
Between April 2014 and September 2014, the trustees of the Group 
Employee Benefit Trust (the ‘Trust’) purchased 8,039,048 Ordinary 
shares to satisfy future employee share awards. At year end, the Trust 
held 3.69% of the issued share capital of the Company (2014: 1.97%) 
for the benefit of employees and their dependents. The voting rights 
in relation to these shares are exercised by the trustees.

75

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014DIRECTOR’S REPORT 
CONTINUED

Substantial interests in shares
In accordance with Chapter 5 of the DTR, the shareholders listed on the following table have notified the Company of their interests in the 
Ordinary shares of the Company as at the dates shown below:

Name

Baillie Gifford & Co Ltd
Amjad Bseisu and family1
Schroders Plc
Deutsche Bank AG
Aberdeen Asset Management Group
Swedbank Robur Fonder AB
Montanaro Asset Management Limited
EnQuest Employee Benefit Trust
Norges Bank Investment Management

Number of 
Ordinary shares 
held at  
31 December 
2014

% of issued 
share capital 
held at  
31 December 
2014

Number of 
Ordinary shares 
Held as at 
18 March 
2015

% of issued 
share capital 
held as at 
18 March 
2015

72,706,379
71,405,331
62,873,763
–
41,422,437
39,749,295
31,913,096
29,691,691
28,888,522

9.06
8.90
7.83
–
5.16
4.95
3.98
3.70
3.60

74,040,638
71,405,331
71,140,670
49,665,425
41,492,150
39,763,791
29,902,500
29,611,183
29,526,739

9.22
8.90
8.86
6.19
5.17
4.95
3.73
3.69
3.68

Note:
1.  The shares are held by Double A Limited, a discretionary trust in which the extended family of Amjad Bseisu has a beneficial interest.

The Mandatory Carbon Reporting (‘MCR’) report includes assets 
which are in the operational control of EnQuest. These are:

 ` Heather Alpha;
 ` Thistle Alpha;
 ` Northern Producer Floating Production Facility;
 ` Kittiwake;
 ` Drilling rigs under the control of EnQuest for exploration and 

appraisal purposes; and

 ` All land based offices.

All six greenhouse gases are reported as appropriate. 

Total emissions within operational control
596,696 tCO2e

Intensity ratio
49.57 kgCO2e/BOE

Where BOE = barrel of oil equivalent.

Acquisitions and disposals
A summary of the key acquisitions and disposals throughout the year 
under review can be found in the Strategic Report on pages 20 and 21.

Annual General Meeting
The Company’s AGM will be held at Café Royal Hotel, 68 Regent 
Street, London W1B 4DY on 27 May 2015. Formal notice of the 
AGM, including details of special business, is set out in the Notice 
of AGM which accompanies this Annual Report and Accounts and is 
available on the Company’s website at www.enquest.com.

Registrars
In connection with the Ordinary shares traded on the London Stock 
Exchange, the Company’s share registrar is Capita Registrars. For the 
Ordinary shares traded on NASDAQ OMX Stockholm the Company’s 
share registrar is Euroclear Sweden. Full details of both registrars can 
be found in the Company Information section on page 125.

Greenhouse gas (‘GHG’) emissions
EnQuest has reported on all of the emission sources within its 
operational control required under the Companies Act 2006 
(Strategic Report and Directors’ Reports) Regulations 2013. These 
sources fall within the EnQuest consolidated financial statement. 
EnQuest has used the principles of the GHG Protocol Corporate 
Accounting and Reporting Standard (revised edition), ISO 14064-1 
and data gathered to fulfil the requirements under the 
’Environmental Reporting Guidelines: Including Mandatory 
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reporting Guidance‘ June 2013.

76

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014Global GHG emissions data for period 1 January to 31 December 2014

Scope 1 – Nat Gas Combustion
Scope 1 – Nat Gas Flare
Scope 1 – Diesel
Scope 1 – Nat Gas Vent
Scope 1 – Refrigerant Losses
Scope 1 – Fugitive
Scope 1 – Drilling Rigs
Scope 1 – Office Refrigerants
Scope 1 – Natural Gas – London Office
Scope 2 – Office Electricity
Totals
Intensity Ratio: kgCO2e/BOE

2013 (Baseline)** 
(tCO2e)

2013 (Baseline)** 
(% Total 
Emissions)

 144,657 
 208,350 
 119,248 
 41,600 
 57 
 468 
 10,970 
 0 
 22 
 933 
 526,305 

27.49%
39.59%
22.66%
7.90%
0.01%
0.09%
2.08%
0.00%
0.00%
0.18%
100.00%

2014 (tCO2e)

 202,963 
 220,158 
 79,741 
 42,542 
 347 
 324 
 22,754 
 0 
 22 
 1,117 
 569,968 

2014 (% Total 
Emissions)

35.61%
38.63%
13.99%
7.46%
0.06%
0.06%
3.99%
0.00%
0.00%
0.20%
100.00%

Emissions reported above normalised to per barrel of oil equivalent (gross)

39.31

Not 
applicable

49.57

Not 
applicable

**  Malaysia operations coming under EnQuest’s operational control in Q4 2014 have been excluded on the basis of insufficient data. EnQuest is implementing data 

collection processes to allow full reporting of Malaysian assets in 2015.

**  2013 baseline has been recalculated to account for improved data in respect of Heather/Thistle methane venting and EnQuest taking operational control of the 

Kittiwake asset. 

EnQuest has a number of financial interests, e.g. joint ventures and 
joint investments, for which it does not have operational control. 
Hence, the boundary for emissions within EnQuest’s operational 
control is different to the financial boundary. In line with MCR 
guidance this is fully disclosed.

EnQuest has voluntarily opted to have the emissions reported 
within the MCR scope verified to the internationally recognised 
ISO-14064-1 standard by a UKAS accredited verification body. This 
increases the robustness of the reported emissions and provides the 
reader with more confidence in the stated figures. This goes beyond 
the minimum requirements of the guidance.

Change of control agreements
The Company is not party to any significant agreements which take 
effect, alter or terminate upon a change of control of the Company 
following a takeover bid, except in respect of: (a) the Revolving 
Credit Facility Agreement, which includes provisions that, upon a 
change of control, permit each lender not to provide certain funding 
under that facility and to cancel its exposure to credit which may 
already have been advanced to the Company; (b) the Company’s 
Euro Medium Term Note Programme (under which the Company 
currently has in issue euro medium term notes with an aggregate 
nominal amount of £155 million), pursuant to which if there is a 
change of control of the Company, a holder of a note has the option 
to require the Company to redeem such note at its principal 
amount, together with any accrued interest thereon; and (c) under 
the indenture governing the high-yield bonds, if we undergo certain 
events defined as constituting a change of control, each holder of 
the high-yield notes may require us to repurchase all or a portion of 
its notes at 101% of their principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid 
interest, if any. 

Important events subsequent to the year end
Events since the balance sheet date are summarised in note 28 to 
the financial statements on page 117.

Directors’ statement as to disclosure of information to auditor
The Directors who held office at the date of the approval of the 
Directors’ Report confirm that, so far as they are each aware, there is 
no relevant audit information of which the Company’s auditor is 
unaware, and each Director has taken all steps that they ought to 
have taken as Directors in order to make themselves aware of any 
relevant audit information and to establish that the Company’s 
auditor is aware of that information.

Responsibility statements under the DTR
The Directors who held office at the date of the approval of the 
Directors’ Report confirm that, to the best of their knowledge, the 
financial statements, prepared in accordance with IFRS as adopted 
by the European Union, give a true and fair view of the assets, 
liabilities, financial position and profit of the Company and the 
undertakings included in the consolidation taken as a whole; and 
the Directors’ Report, Operating Review and Financial Review 
include a fair review of the development and performance of the 
business and the position of the Company and the undertakings 
included in the consolidation taken as a whole, together with a 
description of the principal risks and uncertainties that they face.

Independent auditor
Having reviewed the independence and effectiveness of the auditor, 
the Audit Committee has recommended to the Board that the 
existing auditor, EY, be reappointed. EY has expressed their 
willingness to continue as auditor. An ordinary resolution to 
reappoint EY as auditor of the Company and authorising the 
Directors to set their remuneration will be proposed at the 
forthcoming AGM. 

Financial risk and financial instruments
Information on financial risk management, including credit and 
liquidity risks and information about financial instruments, is set out 
in the Financial Review on pages 38 to 43 and the notes to the 
financial statements on pages 115 to 117 respectively.

Going concern
The Group’s business activities, together with the factors likely to 
affect its future development, performance and position are set out 
in the Strategic Report on pages 1 to 45. The financial position of 
the Group, its cash flow, liquidity position and borrowing facilities 
are described in the Financial Review on pages 38 to 43. In addition, 
note 27 to the financial statements includes the Group’s objectives, 
policies and processes for managing its capital; its financial risk 
management objectives; details of its financial instruments and 
hedging activities; and its exposures to credit risk and liquidity risk.

The Directors’ Report was approved by the Board and signed on 
its behalf by the Company Secretary on 18 March 2015.

Stefan Ricketts
Company Secretary

77

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014STATEMENT OF DIRECTORS’ RESPONSIBILITIES IN RELATION TO THE 
GROUP FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The Directors are responsible for preparing the Annual Report 
and the Group financial statements in accordance with applicable 
United Kingdom law and regulations. Company law requires the 
Directors to prepare Group financial statements for each financial 
year. Under that law, the Directors are required to prepare Group 
financial statements under International Financial Reporting 
Standards as adopted by the European Union.

Under Company law the Directors must not approve the Group 
financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true 
and fair view of the state of affairs of the Group and of the profit or 
loss of the Group for that period. In preparing the Group financial 
statements the Directors are required to:

 ` present fairly the financial position, financial performance and 

cash flows of the Group;

 ` select suitable accounting policies in accordance with IAS 8: 
Accounting Policies, Changes in Accounting Estimates and 
Errors and then apply them consistently;

 ` present information, including accounting policies, in a manner 

that provides relevant, reliable, comparable and understandable 
information;

 ` make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
 ` provide additional disclosures when compliance with the specific 

requirements in IFRSs is insufficient to enable users to 
understand the impact of particular transactions, other events 
and conditions on the Group’s financial position and financial 
performance; and

 ` state that the Group has complied with International Financial 

Reporting Standards as adopted by the European Union, subject 
to any material departures disclosed and explained in the 
financial statements.

The Directors are responsible for keeping adequate accounting 
records that are sufficient to show and explain the Group’s 
transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the 
financial position of the Group and enable them to ensure that the 
Group financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006 
and Article 4 of the IAS Regulation. They are also responsible for 
safeguarding the assets of the Group and hence for taking 
reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and 
other irregularities.

The Directors are also responsible for preparing the Strategic 
Report, Directors’ Report, the Directors’ Remuneration Report 
and the Corporate Governance Statement in accordance with 
Companies Act 2006 and applicable regulations, including the 
requirements of the Listing Rules and the Disclosure and 
Transparency Rules.

Fair, balanced and understandable
In accordance with the principles of the UK Corporate Governance 
Code, the Directors are responsible for establishing arrangements 
to evaluate whether the information presented in the Annual 
Report, taken as a whole, is fair, balanced and understandable and 
provides the information necessary for shareholders to assess the 
Company’s performance, business model and strategy, and making 
a statement to that effect. This statement is set out on page 54 of 
the Annual Report.

78

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT 
TO THE MEMBERS OF ENQUEST PLC 
(REGISTERED NUMBER: 07140891)

1. Our opinions arising from our audit
In our opinion;
 ` the Group financial statements give a true and fair view of the state of the Group’s affairs as at 31 December 2014 and of the Group’s 

loss for the year then ended;

 ` the Parent Company statements give a true and fair view of the state of the Company’s affairs as at 31 December 2014;
 ` the Group financial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) as 

adopted by the European Union;

 ` the Parent Company statements have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted 

Accounting Practice; and

 ` the Financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 and, as regards the 

Group’s Financial statements, Article 4 of the IAS Regulation.

2. What we have audited
We have audited the financial statements of EnQuest PLC for the year end ended 31 December 2014, which comprise the Group Statement 
of Comprehensive Income, the Group Balance Sheet, the Company Balance Sheet, the Group Statement of Changes in Equity, the Group 
Statement of Cash Flows, the related Group notes 1 to 29, and related parent Company notes 1 to 15. 

The financial reporting framework that has been applied in the preparation of the Group financial statements is applicable law and IFRS as 
adopted by the European Union and in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act 2006 and in the preparation of the Parent 
Company statements is applicable law and United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice and in accordance with the provisions 
of the Companies Act 2006.

3. Our assessment of risk of material misstatement and response to these risks 
We have included in the table below the risks that have had the greatest effect on our overall audit strategy; the allocation of resources in 
the audit; and directing the efforts of the engagement team. As in all of our audits, we also addressed the risk of management override of 
internal controls, including evaluating whether there is evidence of bias by the directors that may represent a risk of material misstatement 
due to fraud. 

Risks

Our response to these risks

The recent decline in crude oil prices has had a significant impact on 
the Group financial statements and disclosures. The lower outlook 
has resulted in material impairments of assets.

A significant judgement is oil price assumptions, both in the short 
and long term.

Oil price assumptions impact many areas of financial reporting, 
including estimation of oil and gas reserve volumes, impairment 
assessment and decommissioning provision estimates.

Estimation of oil and gas reserves requires significant judgement 
and assumptions by management and engineers. These estimates 
have a material impact on the financial statements, particularly: 
impairment testing; depreciation, depletion and amortisation 
(DD&A); decommissioning provisions; and going concern.

There is technical uncertainty in assessing reserve quantities. 

In assessing the appropriateness of management’s oil price 
assumptions, we have compared their price assumptions with 
the latest market evidence available, including forward curves, 
brokers’ estimates and other long term price forecasts. See note 
10 of the accounts, where the impairments are discussed and the 
considerations of the Audit Committee on pages 55–58.

Our audit procedures have focused on management’s estimation 
process, including whether bias exists in the determination of reserves. 

We carried out procedures to understand and walkthrough EnQuest’s 
internal process for oil and gas reserves estimation.

We assessed the objectivity and competence of both internal and 
external specialists. We also reviewed the report of the external 
specialist on the audit of the reserves for the UK North Sea and 
Malaysia assets as at 31 December 2014. 

We used the results of these procedures to inform our audit of asset 
impairment testing, the calculation of depreciation, depletion and 
amortisation; the calculation of decommissioning provisions; the 
assessment of going concern and reserve disclosures in the Annual 
Report and Accounts.

See the consideration of the Audit Committee on pages 55–58.

79

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT 
TO THE MEMBERS OF ENQUEST PLC CONTINUED 
(REGISTERED NUMBER: 07140891)
Risks

Our response to these risks

The assessment of the existence of any indicators of impairment 
of the carrying amount of non-current exploration and production 
assets is judgemental.

In the event that indicators are identified, the assessment of the 
recoverable amounts of the assets is also judgemental. Overall 
there has been a material impairment charge that has been 
recognised during 2014. The impairment charge has primarily 
been driven by the significant reduction in oil prices and reduced 
outlook for the long term assumed oil prices.

We believe that there is more judgement involved in revenue 
recognition than previous years, mainly as a result of operations in 
international locations such as Malaysia and the commencement of 
commodity trading activity.

The principal indicator of impairment was the decline in the oil price.

We carried out procedures to understand and walkthrough EnQuest 
PLC’s process for identifying impairment triggers, and considered 
management’s assessment of indicators of impairment. 

We challenged management’s assessment of impairment indicators 
and whether or not a formal impairment test was required. 

Where a formal impairment test was necessary, we challenged and 
audited management’s assumptions and sensitivities. This included 
specifically the determination of cash generating units, cash flow 
projections, oil prices, production profiles, capital and operating 
expenditure, discount rates, and sensitivities used. In addition we 
engaged our business modelling and valuation specialists to assist us 
in the audit of the impairment charge. 

We performed detailed audit procedures on the impairment test 
models including goodwill, intangibles, transfer of costs, comparison 
to historical data, and past reliability of forecasts. 

We also used the result of procedures performed in relation to 
estimation of oil and gas reserves and depletion calculations.

See note 10 of the accounts, where the impairments are discussed 
and the considerations of the Audit Committee on pages 55–58.

We performed procedures to understand and walkthrough the 
process and controls for revenue recognition and calculation. 

We carried out substantive audit procedures on revenue recognition 
including transaction testing, review of new sales agreement and 
contractual terms, cut-off procedures to ensure transactions recorded 
in correct periods and subsequent receipt tests. 

We set expectations and performed detailed analytical review 
procedures on disaggregated sales data including discussion 
with management and business analysts, review of market prices, 
challenged any differences to expectations, and identified any 
significant or unusual trends.

Decommissioning provisions are a judgemental area. They are 
calculated based on a number of estimates and assumptions 
that are impacted by future activities, economic climate and 
the legislative environment in which EnQuest operates. The 
decommissioning provisions are also affected by changes in the oil 
and gas reserve estimates and price assumptions which determine 
the date on which production will cease.

We obtained management’s updated decommissioning papers 
and workings. Our audit procedures focused on assessing the 
reasonableness of the assumptions used in the calculation 
of provisions, consistency across assets and the audit of the 
calculation of the decommissioning charge and unwinding of the 
discount on the liability. We also assessed appropriateness of the 
discount rate applied.

The Group has a number of uncertain tax positions, which 
are subject to judgement in relation to interpretation of tax 
regulations and estimation in recording a provision for any 
potential cash outflow.

We considered management’s interpretation and application 
of relevant tax law and challenged the appropriateness of 
management’s assumptions and estimates in relation to uncertain 
tax positions.

See note 23 of the accounts, where the provisions are discussed and 
the considerations of the Audit Committee on pages 55–58.

To assist us in assessing a number of uncertain tax positions, 
we engaged our tax specialists to advise us on the tax technical 
issues in order to form a view of the risk of challenge to certain tax 
treatments adopted.

80

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014Risks

Our response to these risks

The going concern assessment, particularly in the light of recent oil 
price decline and decrease in forecast forward prices.

We performed procedures to understand management’s going 
concern review process. 

Our audit procedures included:
 – agreeing the assumed cash flows to the business plan and walking 
through the business planning process and testing the central 
assumptions to external data;

 – agreeing the available facilities and arrangements to underlying 

documentation;

 – considering the impact of any delays in the startup of Alma/Galia; 
 – assessing and auditing the sensitivities of the underlying 

assumptions used in the going concern review; and

 – comparing future cash flows to historical data, ensuring variations 
are in line with our expectations and considering the reliability of 
past forecasts.

See the considerations of the Audit Committee on pages 55–58.

4. Our application of materiality
We apply the concept of materiality both in planning and performing our audit, and in evaluating the effect of misstatements on our audit 
and on the financial statements. For the purposes of determining whether the financial statements are free from material misstatement we 
define materiality as the magnitude of misstatement that makes it probable that the economic decisions of a reasonably knowledgeable 
person, relying on the financial statements would be changed or influenced.

We determined materiality of the Group to be $10.5 million (2013: $16 million), which represents approximately 5% of the Group’s business 
performance before taxation (which excludes exceptionals and one-off items). The final business performance profit before tax was higher; 
however we did not revise our materiality levels upwards. We have calculated materiality with reference to the Group’s business 
performance as we consider this to be one of the principal considerations for members of the Company in assessing the financial 
performance of the Group, on the basis that business performance excludes exceptionals and one-off items. Business performance is the 
key earnings measure discussed when the Group presents the financial results. This provided a basis for determining the nature, timing and 
extent of risk assessment procedures, identifying and assessing the risk of material misstatement and determining the nature, timing and 
extent of further audit procedures. Our evaluation of materiality requires professional judgement and necessarily takes into qualitative as 
well as quantitative consideration implicit in the definition.

The oil price declined significantly during the course of our audit. The significant decline was in the fourth quarter of the year and did not 
have a significant impact on the full year business performance. However there have been a number of material impairments which have 
been audited individually and in full.

On the basis of our risk assessments, together with our assessment of the Group’s overall control environment, our judgement is that overall 
performance materiality (that is our tolerance for misstatement in an individual account or balance) for the Group should be 50% of materiality 
(2013: 50%), namely $5.25 million (2013: $8 million). Our objective in adopting this approach is to ensure that total uncorrected and undetected 
audit differences in the financial statements as a whole do not exceed our materiality of $10.5 million (2013: $16 million).

Audit work at individual components is undertaken based on a percentage of our total performance materiality. The performance 
materiality set for each component is based on the relative size of the component and our view of the risk of misstatement at that 
component. In the current year we set performance materiality for UK at $5.25 million and Malaysia at $1.0 million.

We collated errors in excess of $0.5 million and agreed with the Audit Committee that we would report to the Committee all audit 
differences in excess of $0.75 million (2013: $1 million), as well as differences below that threshold that, in our view, warranted reporting 
on qualitative grounds.

We evaluate any uncorrected misstatements against both quantitative measures of materiality discussed above, and in light of other 
relevant qualitative considerations.

5. An overview of the scope of our audit
We used a risk-based approach for determining our audit strategy, ensuring that our audit teams performed consistent procedures and 
focussed on addressing the risks that are relevant to the business. This approach focussed our audit effort towards higher risk areas, such 
as significant management judgements, and on locations that were considered material based upon size, complexity and risk.

Our assessment of audit risk, our evaluation of materiality and our allocation of that materiality determined our audit scope. The factors that 
we considered when assessing the scope of the Group audit and the level of work to be performed at each location included the following: 
the financial significance and specific risks of the location, the effectiveness of the control environment and monitoring activities, including 
group-wide controls and recent internal audit findings.

81

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT 
TO THE MEMBERS OF ENQUEST PLC CONTINUED 
(REGISTERED NUMBER: 07140891)

8. The scope of our report
This report is made solely to the Company’s members, as a body, 
in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 
2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state 
to the Company’s members those matters we are require to state to 
them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest 
extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility 
to anyone other than the Company and the Company’s members as 
a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we 
have formed. 

9. The scope of the financial statements
An audit involves obtaining evidence about the amounts and 
disclosures in the financial statements sufficient to give reasonable 
assurance that the financial statements are free from material 
misstatement, whether caused by fraud or error. This includes an 
assessment of whether the accounting policies are appropriate to 
the Group’s circumstances and have been applied consistently and 
adequately disclosed; the reasonableness of significant accounting 
estimates made by the Directors, and the overall presentation of 
the financial statements. In addition, we read all the financial and 
non-financial information in the Annual Report and Accounts 2014 
to identify material inconsistencies with the audited financial 
statements and to identify any information that is apparently 
materially incorrect based on, or materially inconsistent with, the 
knowledge acquired by us in the course of performing our audit. 
If we become aware of any apparent material misstatements or 
inconsistencies we consider the implications for our report.

10. The respective responsibilities of Directors and Auditor
As explained more fully in the Statement of directors’ responsibilities 
set out on page 78, the Directors are responsible for the preparation 
of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give 
a true and fair view. Our responsibility is to audit and express an 
opinion on the financial statements in accordance with applicable 
law and International Standards on Auditing (UK and Ireland). Those 
standards require us to comply with the Auditing Practices Board’s 
Ethical Standards for Auditors.

Gary Donald (Senior Statutory Auditor)
For and on behalf of Ernst & Young LLP, Statutory Auditor
London
18 March 2015

Notes:
1.  The maintenance and integrity of the EnQuest PLC website is the 

responsibility of the Directors: the work carried out by the auditor does 
not involve consideration of these matters and accordingly the auditor accepts 
no responsibility for any changes that may have occurred to the financial 
statements since they were initially presented on the website.
2.  Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and 
dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in 
other jurisdictions.

Our Group audit scope focussed on two key locations, of which one 
was subject to a full scope audit, whilst the remaining location was 
subject to specific audit testing based on our judgement of risk and 
materiality. The full scope location is 94% of the Group’s total assets 
and 98% of the Group’s business performance and the specific 
scope location is 6% of the Group’s total assets and 2% of the 
Group’s business performance.

For the remaining locations, we performed other procedures to 
confirm there were no significant risks of material misstatement in 
the Group’s financial statements.

For all in-scope locations, in addition to the site visits, the Group 
audit team reviewed key working papers and participated in the 
component team’s planning and execution of the responses to 
the risks.

6. Our opinion on other matters prescribed by the Companies 
Act 2006
In our opinion:
 ` the part of the Directors’ Remuneration report to be audited has 
been properly prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 
2006; and

 ` the information given in the Strategic Report and Directors’ 

Report for the financial year for which the financial statements 
are prepared is consistent with the financial statements.

7. Matters on which we are required to report by exception
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters:

Under the ISAs (UK and Ireland), we are required to report to you if, 
in our opinion, information in the Annual Report is:
 ` materially inconsistent with the information in the audited 

financial statements; or

 ` apparently materially incorrect based on, or materially 

inconsistent with, our knowledge of the Group acquired in the 
course of performing our audit; or

 ` is otherwise misleading.

In particular, we are required to consider whether we have 
identified any inconsistencies between our knowledge acquired 
during the audit and the Directors’ statement that they consider the 
Annual Report and Accounts, taken as a whole, is fair, balanced and 
understandable and whether the Annual Report appropriately 
discloses those matters that we communicated to the Audit 
Committee which we consider should have been disclosed.

Under the Companies Act 2006 we are required to report to you if, 
in our opinion:
 ` adequate accounting records have not been kept by the parent 
Company, or returns adequate for our audit have not been 
received from branches not visited by us; or

 ` the parent Company financial statements and the part of the 
Directors’ Remuneration Report to be audited are not in 
agreement with the accounting records and returns; or

 ` certain disclosures of Directors’ remuneration specified by law 

are not made; or

 ` we have not received all the information and explanations we 

require for our audit.

Under the Listing Rules we are required to review:
 ` the Directors’ statement, set out on pages 42 and 43, in relation 

to going concern; and

 ` the part of the Corporate Governance Statement relating to the 

Company’s compliance with the nine provisions of the UK 
Corporate Governance Code specified for our review.

82

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014GROUP STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2014

2014

Depletion 
of fair value 
uplift, re-
measurements, 
impairments 
and other 
exceptional 
items
(note 4)
US$’000

Business 
performance
US$’000

Notes

Reported 
in year
US$’000

Business 
performance
US$’000

2013

Depletion 
of fair value 
uplift, re-
measurements, 
impairments 
and other 
exceptional 
items
(note 4)
US$’000

(5,954)
(822)

(6,776)
–
(312)
–
–

–
–
–
–

(7,088)
–
–

(7,088)
5,276

Reported 
in year
US$’000

955,245
(527,143)

428,102
(8,641)
(312)
–
–

–
(25,024)
–
(26,390)

367,735
(38,830)
2,030

330,935
(141,331)

961,199
(526,321)

434,878
(8,641)
–
–
–

–
(25,024)
–
(26,390)

374,823
(38,830)
2,030

338,023
(146,607)

5(a)  1,009,884
(654,061)
5(b)

18,611
(57,797)

1,028,495
(711,858)

355,823
(4,033)
–
–
–

–
(16,464)
27,176
–

362,502
(121,066)
1,814

243,250
(105,841)

(39,186)
(151,982)
(1,316)
(678,801)
28,630

2,019
–
–
–

(840,636)
18,698
–

(821,938)
508,120

316,637
(156,015)
(1,316)
(678,801)
28,630

2,019
(16,464)
27,176
–

(478,134)
(102,368)
1,814

(578,688)
402,279

137,409

(313,818)

(176,409)

191,416

(1,812)

189,604

156,281
(96,894)
(398)

(117,420)

US$
(0.228)
(0.228)

US$
0.246
0.240

121
(75)
398

190,048

US$
0.244
0.238

US$
0.178
0.178

Revenue and other operating income
Cost of sales

Gross profit/(loss)
Exploration and evaluation expenses
Impairment of investments
Impairment of oil and gas assets
Negative goodwill
Gain on disposal of intangible oil and 
gas assets
General and administration expenses
Other income 
Other expenses 

Profit/(loss) from operations before tax 
and finance income/(costs)
Finance costs
Finance income

Profit/(loss) before tax
Income tax

Profit/(loss) for the year attributable to 
owners of the parent 

Other comprehensive income for the 
year, after tax:
Cash flow hedges: may be reclassified 
subsequently to profit or loss 
Deferred tax on gain on cash flow hedges
Available-for-sale financial assets

Total comprehensive income for 
the year, attributable to owners of the 
parent

Earnings per share
Basic 
Diluted 

5(c)
4
4
13

12
5(d)
5(e)
5(f)

6
6

7

21
7
14

8

The attached notes 1 to 29 form part of these Group financial statements. 

83

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014GROUP BALANCE SHEET
AT 31 DECEMBER 2014

ASSETS
Non-current assets
Property, plant and equipment
Goodwill
Intangible oil and gas assets
Investments
Deferred tax assets
Other financial assets

Current assets
Inventories
Trade and other receivables 
Current tax receivable
Cash and cash equivalents
Other financial assets

TOTAL ASSETS

EQUITY AND LIABILITIES
Equity 
Share capital
Merger reserve
Cash flow hedge reserve
Available-for-sale reserve
Share-based payment reserve
Retained earnings

TOTAL EQUITY

Non-current liabilities
Borrowings
Bonds
Obligations under finance leases
Provisions
Other financial liabilities
Deferred tax liabilities

Current liabilities
Bonds
Trade and other payables
Obligations under finance leases
Other financial liabilities
Current tax payable

TOTAL LIABILITIES

TOTAL EQUITY AND LIABILITIES

Notes

2014 
US$’000

2013 
US$’000

10
11
12
14
7
21

15
16

17
21

18

20
20
25
23
21
7

20
24
25
21

3,116,405
189,317
65,710
689
40,401
18,809

2,871,229
107,760
130,874
2,403
14,731
21,928

3,431,331

3,148,925

89,397
286,227
11,199
176,791
100,932

664,546

46,814
267,180
6,275
72,809
8,455

401,533

4,095,877

3,550,458

113,433
662,855
59,387
–
(17,696)
541,894

113,433
662,855
–
398
(10,280)
718,303

1,359,873

1,484,709

227,035
882,561
36
556,368
23,694
503,037

199,396
254,500
72
308,426
839
760,993

2,192,731

1,524,226

12,689
429,070
36
101,478
–

543,273

4,291
363,310
35
169,891
3,996

541,523

2,736,004

2,065,749

4,095,877

3,550,458

The attached notes 1 to 29 form part of these Group financial statements. 
The financial statements on pages 83 to 118 were approved by the Board of Directors on 18 March 2015 and signed on its behalf by: 

Jonathan Swinney
Chief Financial Officer

84

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014GROUP STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY
AT 31 DECEMBER 2014

At 1 January 2013

113,433

662,855

(46)

–

(11,072)

528,699

1,293,869

Share 
capital
US$’000

Merger 
reserve 
US$’000

Cash flow 
hedge reserve
US$’000

Available-for-
sale reserve
US$’000

Share-based 
payments 
reserve
US$’000

Retained 
earnings
US$’000

Total
US$’000

Profit for the year
Other comprehensive income

Total comprehensive income for the year

Share-based payment charge
Shares purchased on behalf of Employee 
Benefit Trust

–
–

–

–

–

–
–

–

–

–

At 31 December 2013

113,433

662,855

Loss for the year
Other comprehensive income

Total comprehensive income for the year

Share-based payment charge
Shares purchased on behalf of Employee 
Benefit Trust

–
–

–

–

–

–
–

–

–

–

–
46

46

–

–

–

–
59,387

59,387

–

–

At 31 December 2014

113,433

662,855

59,387

The attached notes 1 to 29 form part of these Group financial statements.

–
398

398

–

–

–
–

–

189,604
–

189,604

8,193

(7,401)

–

–

189,604
444

190,048

8,193

(7,401)

398

(10,280)

718,303

1,484,709

–
(398)

(398)

–

–

–

–
–

–

(176,409)
–

(176,409)
58,989

(176,409)

(117,420)

8,468

(15,884)

–

–

8,468

(15,884)

(17,696)

541,894

1,359,873

85

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014GROUP STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2014

CASH FLOW FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES
(Loss)/profit before tax
Depreciation 
Depletion
Exploration costs impaired and written off
Impairment of oil and gas assets
Gain on disposal of intangible oil and gas assets
Impairment on available-for-sale investments
Negative goodwill
Share-based payment charge
Unwinding of discount on decommissioning provisions
Unrealised losses on financial instruments
Unrealised exchange (gains)/losses
Net finance costs

Operating profit before working capital changes
Decrease/(increase) in trade and other receivables
Increase in inventories
Increase/(decrease) in trade and other payables

Cash generated from operations
Cash received on sale of financial instruments
Decommissioning spend
Income taxes paid

Net cash flows from operating activities

INVESTING ACTIVITIES
Purchase of property, plant and equipment
Purchase of intangible oil and gas assets
Proceeds from disposal of intangible oil and gas assets
Acquisitions
Prepayment of finance lease
Proceeds from farm-out
Interest received

Net cash flows used in investing activities

FINANCING ACTIVITIES
Proceeds from bank facilities
Proceeds from bond issue
Shares purchased by Employee Benefit Trust
Repayment of obligations under finance leases
Interest paid
Other finance costs paid

Net cash flows from financing activities

NET INCREASE/(DECREASE) IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS
Net foreign exchange on cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents at 1 January

CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS AT 31 DECEMBER

The attached notes 1 to 29 form part of these Group financial statements. 

86

 Notes

2014 
US$’000

2013 
US$’000

5(d)
5(b)
5(c)
4
4
4
4
5(g)
6
5(a)(b)
5(e)(f)
6

(578,688)
7,438
244,531
152,550
678,801
(2,019)
1,316
(28,630)
8,468
12,093
(1,447)
(27,176)
88,461

555,698
96,243
(41,748)
26,877

637,070
100,126
(7,177)
(12,503)

330,935
6,914
225,654
1,966
–
–
312
–
8,193
12,588
(5,938)
26,390
22,479

629,493
(30,828)
 (30,849)
(5,126)

562,690
–
–
(11,278)

717,516

551,412

(990,563)
(69,749)
2,162
(58,233)
(100,000)
–
936

(950,326)
(36,593)
–
–
–
2,648
583

(1,215,447)

(983,688)

42,034
650,000
(15,884)
(35)
(43,582)
(23,049)

182,731
246,345
(7,401)
(35)
(9,025)
(35,712)

609,484

376,903

111,553
(7,571)
72,809

176,791

(55,373)
3,660
124,522

72,809

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014 
NOTES TO THE GROUP FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2014

1. Corporate information 
EnQuest PLC (EnQuest or the Company) is a limited liability 
Company registered in England and is listed on the London Stock 
Exchange and Stockholm NASDAQ OMX market. 

The Group’s principal activities are the exploration for, and 
extraction and production of, hydrocarbons in the UK Continental 
Shelf, Malaysia and the Norwegian North Sea.

The Group’s financial statements for the year ended 31 December 
2014 were authorised for issue in accordance with a resolution of 
the Board of Directors on 18 March 2015.

A listing of the Group companies is contained in note 29 to these 
Group financial statements.

2. Summary of significant accounting policies 
Basis of preparation
The Group financial information has been prepared in accordance 
with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as adopted 
by the European Union as they apply to the financial statements of 
the Group for the year ended 31 December 2014 and applied in 
accordance with the Companies Act 2006. The accounting policies 
which follow set out those policies which apply in preparing the 
financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2014.

The Group financial information has been prepared on a historical 
cost basis. The presentation currency of the Group financial 
information is United States dollars and all values in the Group 
financial information are rounded to the nearest thousand (US$’000) 
except where otherwise stated. 

Going concern concept
The Directors’ assessment of going concern concludes that the use 
of the going concern basis is appropriate and there are no material 
uncertainties that may cast significant doubt about the ability of the 
Group to continue as a going concern. See pages 42 and 43 in the 
Financial Review for further details.

Basis of consolidation
Subsidiaries
Subsidiaries are all entities over which the Group has the sole right to 
exercise control over the operations and govern the financial policies 
generally accompanying a shareholding of more than half of the 
voting rights. The existence and effect of potential voting rights 
that are currently exercisable or convertible are considered when 
assessing the Group’s control. Subsidiaries are fully consolidated 
from the date on which control is transferred to the Group and are 
de-consolidated from the date that control ceases.

Intercompany profits, transactions and balances are eliminated 
on consolidation. Accounting policies of subsidiaries have been 
changed where necessary to ensure consistency with the policies 
adopted by the Group.

Unincorporated jointly controlled assets
Oil and gas operations are conducted by the Group as co-licensees 
in unincorporated joint ventures with other companies. The Group’s 
financial statements reflect the relevant proportions of production, 
capital costs, operating costs and current assets and liabilities of 
the joint venture applicable to the Group’s interests. The Group’s 
current joint venture interests are detailed on page 32.

Business combinations
Business combinations are accounted for using the acquisition 
method. The cost of an acquisition is measured as the aggregate of 
the consideration transferred, measured at acquisition date fair value 
and the amount of any controlling interest in the acquiree. For each 
business combination, the acquirer measures the non-controlling 
interest in the acquiree either at fair value or at the proportionate 
share of the acquiree’s identifiable net assets. Those petroleum 
reserves and resources that are able to be reliably valued are 
recognised in the assessment of fair values on acquisition. 

Other potential reserves, resources and rights, for which fair values 
cannot be reliably determined, are not recognised.

If the fair value of the net assets acquired is in excess of the 
aggregate consideration transferred, the Group re-assesses 
whether it has correctly identified all of the assets acquired and 
all of the liabilities assumed and reviewed the procedures used to 
measure the amounts to be recognised at the acquisition date, if 
the reassessment still results in an excess of the fair value of net 
assets acquired over the aggregate consideration transferred then 
the gain is recognised in profit or loss.

Any contingent consideration to be transferred by the acquirer 
will be recognised at fair value at the acquisition date. Contingent 
consideration classified as an asset or liability that is a financial 
instrument and within the scope of IAS 39 Financial Instruments: 
Recognition and Measurement, is measured at fair value with 
changes in fair value recognised either in profit or loss, or as 
a change to other comprehensive income. If the contingent 
consideration is not within the scope of IAS 39, it is measured in 
accordance with the appropriate IFRS. Contingent consideration 
that is classified as equity is not remeasured and subsequent 
settlement is accounted for within equity.

New standards and interpretations
The Group has adopted new and revised IFRS’s that are relevant 
to its operations and effective for accounting periods beginning 
on or after 1 January 2014. The principal effects of the adoption 
of these new and amended standards and interpretations are 
discussed below:

IFRS 10 Consolidated Financial Statements/IAS 27 (Revised) – 
Separate Financial Statements
IFRS 10 establishes a single control model that applies to all entities 
including special purpose entities and introduces changes which 
require management to exercise significant judgement to determine 
which entities are controlled, and therefore, are required to be 
consolidated by a parent. The consolidation requirements forming 
part of IAS 27 have been revised and contained within IFRS 10.

IFRS 11 Joint Arrangements
IFRS 11 establishes a clear principle that is applicable to the 
accounting for all joint arrangements. The most significant change 
is that IFRS 11 requires the use of the equity method of accounting 
for interests in jointly controlled entities thereby eliminating the 
proportionate consolidation method.

IAS 28 (Revised) – Investments in Associates and Joint Ventures
The standard has been revised due to the introduction of IFRS 11 
and 12. The standard describes the application of the equity 
method to investments in joint ventures in addition to associates. 

Annual Improvements 2010–2012 Cycle
In the 2010–2012 annual improvements cycle, the IASB 
issued seven amendments to six standards, which included an 
amendment to IFRS 13 Fair Value Measurement. It clarifies in the 
Basis for Conclusions that short term receivables and payables with 
no stated interest rates can be measured at invoice amounts when 
the effect of discounting is immaterial. This amendment to IFRS 13 
has no impact on the Group.

IFRS 12 Disclosure of Interests in Other Entities
Includes disclosure requirements for interests in subsidiaries, joint 
arrangements, associates and unconsolidated structured entities. 

87

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014NOTES TO THE GROUP FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2014

IAS 24 Related Party Disclosures
This amendment is applied retrospectively and clarifies that a 
management entity (an entity that provides key management 
personnel services) is a related party subject to the related party 
disclosures. In addition, an entity that uses a management entity is 
required to disclose the expenses incurred for management services.

Annual Improvements 2011–2013 Cycle
These improvements are effective from 1 July 2014 and are not 
expected to have a material impact on the Group. They include:

IFRS 3 Business Combinations
The amendment is applied prospectively and clarifies for the scope 
exceptions within IFRS 3 that:

 ` Joint arrangements, not just joint ventures, are outside the 

scope of IFRS 3;

 ` This scope exception applies only to the accounting in the 

financial statements of the joint arrangement itself.

IFRS 13 Fair Value Measurement
The amendment is applied prospectively and clarifies that the 
portfolio exception in IFRS 13 can be applied not only to financial 
assets and financial liabilities, but also to other contracts within the 
scope of IFRS 9 (or IAS 39, as applicable).

IFRS 15 Revenue from Contracts with Customers
IFRS 15 was issued in May 2014 and establishes a new five-step 
model that will apply to revenue arising from contracts with 
customers. Under IFRS 15 revenue is recognised at an amount that 
reflects the consideration to which an entity expects to be entitled 
in exchange for transferring goods or services to a customer. The 
principles in IFRS 15 provide a more structured approach to 
measuring and recognising revenue.

The new revenue standard is applicable to all entities and will 
supersede all current revenue recognition requirements under IFRS. 
Either a full or modified retrospective application is required for 
annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2017 with early 
adoption permitted. The Group is currently assessing the impact 
of IFRS 15 and plans to adopt the new standard on the required 
effective date.

Amendments to IFRS 11 Joint Arrangements for Acquisition of 
Interests
The amendments to IFRS 11 require that a joint operator accounting 
for the acquisition of an interest in a joint operation, in which the 
activity of the joint operation constitutes a business must apply 
the relevant IFRS 3 principles for business combinations accounting. 
The amendments also clarify that a previously held interest in a joint 
operation is not re-measured in the acquisition of an additional 
interest in the same joint operation while joint control is retained. In 
addition, a scope exclusion has been added to IFRS 11 to specify that 
the amendments do not apply when the parties share joint control, 
including the reporting entity, are under common control of the 
same ultimate controlling party.

The amendments apply to both the acquisition of the initial interest 
in a joint operation and the acquisition of any additional interests in 
the same joint operation and are prospectively effective for annual 
periods beginning on or after 1 January 2016, with early adoption 
permitted. These amendments are not expected to have any 
impact on the Group.

2. Summary of significant accounting policies (continued)
Standards issued but not yet effective
Standards issued and relevant to the Group, but not yet effective 
up to the date of issuance of the Group’s financial statements, are 
listed below. This listing is of standards and interpretations issued, 
which the Group reasonably expects to be applicable at a future 
date. The Group intends to adopt these standards when they 
become effective. The Directors do not anticipate that the adoption 
of these standards will have a material impact on the Group’s 
accounts in the period of initial application.

IFRS 9 Financial Instruments
In July 2014, the IASB issued the final version of IFRS 9 Financial 
Instruments which reflects all phases of the financial instruments 
project and replaces IAS 39 Financial Instruments: Recognition and 
Measurement and all previous versions of IFRS 9. The standard 
introduces new requirements for classification and measurement, 
impairment and hedge accounting. IFRS 9 is effective for annual 
periods beginning on or after 1 January 2018, with early application 
permitted. Retrospective application is required, but comparative 
information is not compulsory. Early application of previous 
versions of IFRS 9 (2009, 2010 and 2013) is permitted if the date of 
initial application is before 1 February 2015. The adoption of IFRS 9 
will have an effect on the classification and measurement of the 
Group’s financial assets, but will not have an impact on classification 
and measurement of financial liabilities. 

Annual Improvements 2010–2012 Cycle
These improvements are effective from 1 July 2014 and are not 
expected to have a material impact on the Group. They include:

IFRS 2 Share-based Payment
This improvement is applied retrospectively and clarifies various 
issues relating to the definitions of performance and service 
conditions which are vesting conditions, including:

 ` A performance condition must contain a service condition;
 ` A performance target must be met while the counterparty is 

rendering service;

 ` A performance target may relate to the operations or activities 
of an entity, or to those of another entity in the same group;

 ` A performance condition may be a market or non-market 

condition;

 ` If the counter-party, regardless of the reason, ceases to 
provide service during the vesting period, the service 
condition is not satisfied.

IFRS 3 Business Combinations
This amendment is applied prospectively and clarifies that all 
contingent consideration arrangements classified as liabilities (or 
assets) arising from a business combination should be subsequently 
measured at fair value through profit or loss whether or not they fall 
within the scope of IAS 39.

IFRS 8 Operating Segments
The amendments are applied retrospectively and clarifies that:

 ` An entity must disclose the judgements made by management 
in applying the aggregation criteria in paragraph 12 of IFRS 8, 
including a brief description of operating segments that have 
been aggregated and the economic characteristics (e.g. sales and 
gross margins) used to assess whether the segments are ‘similar’;

 ` The reconciliation of segment assets to total assets is only 

required to be disclosed if the reconciliation is reported to the 
Chief Operating Decision Maker, similar to the required 
disclosure for segment liabilities.

IAS 16 Property, Plant and Equipment and IAS 38 Intangible Assets
The amendment is applied retrospectively and clarifies in IAS 16 and 
IAS 38 that an asset may be revalued by reference to observable 
data on either the gross or the net carrying amount. In addition, the 
accumulated depreciation or amortisation is the difference between 
the gross and carrying amounts of the asset.

88

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 20142. Summary of significant accounting policies (continued)
Amendments to IAS 16 and IAS 38: Clarification of Acceptable 
Methods of Depreciation and Amortisation
The amendments clarify the principle in IAS 16 and IAS 38 that 
revenue reflects a pattern of economic benefits that are generated 
from operating a business (of which the asset is a part) rather than 
the economic benefits that are consumed through use of the asset. 
As a result, a revenue-based method cannot be used to depreciate 
property, plant and equipment and may only be used in very 
limited circumstances to amortise intangible assets. The 
amendments are effective prospectively for annual periods 
beginning on or after 1 January 2016, with early adoption 
permitted. These amendments are not expected to have any 
impact on the Group given that the Group has not used a revenue-
based method to depreciate its non-current assets.

Critical accounting estimates and judgements
The management of the Group has to make estimates and 
judgements when preparing the financial statements of the Group. 
Uncertainties in the estimates and judgements could have an impact 
on the carrying amount of assets and liabilities and the Group’s 
result. The most important estimates and judgements in relation 
thereto are:

Estimates in oil and gas reserves
The business of the Group is the exploration for, development 
of and production of oil and gas reserves. Estimates of oil and 
gas reserves are used in the calculations for impairment tests 
and accounting for depletion and decommissioning. Changes 
in estimates of oil and gas reserves resulting in different future 
production profiles will affect the discounted cash flows used in 
impairment testing, the anticipated date of decommissioning and the 
depletion charges in accordance with the unit-of-production method.

Estimates in impairment of assets (excluding goodwill)
For details of the policy see Impairment of assets (excluding 
goodwill) and refer to the further economic assumptions below 
within Estimates in impairment of goodwill.

Estimates in impairment of goodwill
Determination of whether goodwill has suffered any impairment 
requires an estimation of the fair value less costs to sell of the 
cash-generating units (CGU) to which goodwill has been allocated. 
The calculation requires the entity to estimate the future cash flows 
expected to arise from the CGU and a suitable discount rate. In 
calculating the value of the CGU, the Group uses forward curve prices 
for the first three years and thereafter at US$85 per barrel inflated at 
2% per annum from 2015. Cash flows are then discounted using a rate 
derived from the Group’s post-tax weighted average cost of capital.

Determining whether an acquisition is a business combination or 
asset purchase
The Group analyses the transaction or event by applying the 
definition of a business combination, principally whether inputs, 
processes and outputs exist, including reviewing Group strategy, 
control and resources. Should the acquired business not be 
viewed as a business combination then it is accounted for as 
an asset purchase.

Determining the fair value of property, plant and equipment 
on business combinations
The Group determines the fair value of property, plant and 
equipment acquired based on the discounted cash flows at the 
time of acquisition, from the proven and probable reserves. In 
assessing the discounted cash flows, the estimated future cash 
flows attributable to the asset are discounted to their present value 
using a discount rate that reflects the market assessments of the time 
value of money and the risks specific to the asset at the time of the 
acquisition. In calculating the asset fair value the Group will apply 
the forward curve followed by an oil price assumption representing 
management’s view of the long term oil price.

Decommissioning provision 
Amounts used in recording a provision for decommissioning are 
estimates based on current legal and constructive requirements 
and current technology and price levels for the removal of facilities 
and plugging and abandoning of wells. Due to changes in relation 
to these items, the future actual cash outflows in relation to 
decommissioning are likely to differ in practice. To reflect the 
effects due to changes in legislation, requirements and 
technology and price levels, the carrying amounts of 
decommissioning provisions are reviewed on a regular basis. 

The effects of changes in estimates do not give rise to prior year 
adjustments and are dealt with prospectively. While the Group uses 
its best estimates and judgement, actual results could differ from 
these estimates.

In estimating decommissioning provisions, the Group applies an 
annual inflation rate of 2% (2013: 2%) and an annual discount rate 
of 3% (2013: 5%).

Carry provision
Part of the consideration for the acquisition of the interest 
in the Kraken field in 2012 was through development carries. 
These were split into two parts, a firm carry where the amount was 
agreed and a contingent carry where the amounts are subject to a 
reserves determination. In assessing the amounts to be provided, 
management has made assumptions about the most likely amount 
outcome of the reserves determination. Future developments may 
require further revisions to the estimate. These would be recorded 
as a financial liability for any outstanding balance under the firm 
carry and as a provision for the contingent carry.

Taxation
The Group’s operations are subject to a number of specific rules 
which apply to exploration and production. In addition, the tax 
provision is prepared before the relevant companies have filed 
their tax returns with the relevant tax authorities and, significantly, 
before these have been agreed. As a result of these factors, the 
tax provision process necessarily involves the use of a number of 
estimates and judgements including those required in calculating 
the effective tax rate. In considering the tax on exceptionals, the 
Company applies the appropriate statutory tax rate to each 
exceptional item to calculate the relevant tax charge on 
exceptional items.

The Group recognises deferred tax assets on unused tax losses 
where it is probable that future taxable profits will be available for 
utilisation. This requires management to make judgements and 
assumptions regarding the amount of deferred tax that can be 
recognised, as well as the likelihood of future taxable profits. 

Foreign currencies
Items included in the financial statements of each of the Group’s 
entities are measured using the currency of the primary economic 
environment in which the entity operates (functional currency). 
The Group financial statements are presented in United States 
dollars, the currency which the Group has elected to use as its 
presentation currency.

In the accounts of the Company and its individual subsidiaries, 
transactions in currencies other than a company’s functional 
currency are recorded at the prevailing rate of exchange on the date 
of the transaction. At the year end, monetary assets and liabilities 
denominated in foreign currencies are retranslated at the rates of 
exchange prevailing at the balance sheet date. Non-monetary 
assets and liabilities that are measured at historical cost in a foreign 
currency are translated using the rate of exchange as at the dates of 
the initial transactions. Non-monetary assets and liabilities measured 
at fair value in a foreign currency are translated using the rate of 
exchange at the date the fair value was determined. All foreign 
exchange gains and losses are taken to profit and loss in the 
statement of comprehensive income. 

89

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014NOTES TO THE GROUP FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2014

relating to the partial interest retained. Any cash consideration 
received directly from the farmee is credited against costs previously 
capitalised in relation to the whole interest with any excess 
accounted for by the farmor as a gain on disposal.

Oil and gas assets
Expenditure relating to development of assets including the 
construction, installation and completion of infrastructure facilities 
such as platforms, pipelines and development wells, is capitalised 
within property, plant and equipment.

Farm-outs – outside the exploration and evaluation phase
In accounting for a farm-out arrangement outside the exploration 
and evaluation phase, the Group:

 ` derecognises the proportion of the asset that it has sold to the 

farmee;

 ` recognises the consideration received or receivable from the 

farmee, which represents the cash received and/or the farmee’s 
obligation to fund the capital expenditure in relation to the 
interest retained by the farmor and/or any deferred 
consideration;

 ` recognises a gain or loss on the transaction for the difference 

between the net disposal proceeds and the carrying amount of 
the asset disposed of. A gain is only recognised when the value 
of the consideration can be determined reliably. If not, then the 
Group accounts for the consideration received as a reduction in 
the carrying amount of the underlying assets; and

 ` tests the retained interests for impairment if the terms of 
the arrangement indicate that the retained interest may 
be impaired.

The consideration receivable on disposal of an item of property, 
plant and equipment or an intangible asset is recognised initially 
at its fair value by the Group. However, if payment for the item is 
deferred, the consideration received is recognised initially at the 
cash price equivalent. The difference between the nominal amount 
of the consideration and the cash price equivalent is recognised as 
interest revenue. Any part of the consideration that is receivable in 
the form of cash is treated as a financial asset and is accounted for 
at amortised cost.

Carry arrangements
Where amounts are paid on behalf of a carried party these are 
capitalised. Where there is an obligation to make payments on 
behalf of a carried party and the timing and amount are uncertain, 
a provision is recognised. Where the payment is a fixed monetary 
amount, a financial liability is recognised.

Asset swaps
Exchanges or part exchanges of intangible oil and gas assets 
are measured at fair value unless the exchange transaction 
lacks commercial substance or the fair value of neither the assets 
received nor the asset given up is reliably measurable. The cost 
of the acquired asset is measured at the fair value of the asset 
given up, unless the fair value of the asset received is more clearly 
evident. Where fair value is not used, the cost of the acquired asset 
is measured at the carrying amount of the amount given up. A gain 
or loss is recognised on the difference between the carrying 
amount of the asset given up and the fair value of the asset 
received in profit or loss.

Changes in unit-of-production factors
Changes in factors which affect unit-of-production calculations 
are dealt with prospectively, not by immediate adjustment of prior 
years’ amounts.

2. Summary of significant accounting policies (continued)
Classification and recognition of assets and liabilities
Non-current assets and non-current liabilities including provisions 
consist, for the most part, solely of amounts that are expected to 
be recovered or paid more than 12 months after the balance sheet 
date. Current assets and current liabilities consist solely of amounts 
that are expected to be recovered or paid within 12 months after 
the balance sheet date.

Property, plant and equipment
Property, plant and equipment is stated at cost less accumulated 
depreciation and any impairment in value. Cost comprises the 
purchase price or construction cost and any costs directly 
attributable to making that asset capable of operating as intended. 
The purchase price or construction cost is the aggregate amount 
paid and the fair value of any other consideration given to acquire 
the asset. 

Oil and gas assets are depleted, on a field-by-field basis, using the 
unit-of-production method based on entitlement to proven and 
probable reserves, taking account of estimated future development 
expenditure relating to those reserves. 

Depreciation on other elements of property, plant and equipment 
is provided on a straight-line basis at the following rates:

Office furniture and equipment  
Long leasehold land 

25% – 100%
period of lease

Each asset’s estimated useful life, residual value and method of 
depreciation are reviewed and adjusted if appropriate at each 
financial year end.

No depreciation is charged on assets under construction. 

The carrying amount of an item of property, plant and equipment is 
derecognised on disposal or when no future economic benefits are 
expected from its use or disposal. The gain or loss arising from the 
derecognition of an item of property, plant and equipment is 
included in the statement of comprehensive income when the 
item is derecognised. Gains are not classified as revenue.

Capitalised costs
Oil and gas assets are accounted for using the successful efforts 
method of accounting.

Intangible oil and gas assets
Expenditure directly associated with evaluation or appraisal activities 
is capitalised as an intangible asset. Such costs include the costs of 
acquiring an interest, appraisal well drilling costs, payments to 
contractors and an appropriate share of directly attributable 
overheads incurred during the evaluation phase. For such appraisal 
activity, which may require drilling of further wells, costs continue to 
be carried as an asset whilst related hydrocarbons are considered 
capable of commercial development. Such costs are subject to 
technical, commercial and management review to confirm the 
continued intent to develop, or otherwise extract value. When this 
is no longer the case, the costs are impaired and any impairment loss 
is recognised in the statement of comprehensive income. When 
exploration licences are relinquished without further development, 
any previous impairment loss is reversed and the carrying costs are 
written off through the statement of comprehensive income. When 
assets are declared part of a commercial development, related costs 
are transferred to property, plant and equipment oil and gas assets. 
All intangible oil and gas assets are assessed for any impairment 
prior to transfer and any impairment loss is recognised in the 
statement of comprehensive income. 

Farm-outs – in the exploration and evaluation phase
The Group does not record any expenditure made by the farmee 
on its account. It also does not recognise any gain or loss on its 
exploration and evaluation farm-out arrangements but redesignates 
any costs previously capitalised in relation to the whole interest as 

90

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 20142. Summary of significant accounting policies (continued)
Borrowing costs
Borrowing costs directly attributable to the construction of qualifying 
assets, which are assets that necessarily take a substantial period of 
time to prepare for their intended use, are added to the cost of those 
assets, until such time as the assets are substantially ready for their 
intended use. All other borrowing costs are recognised as interest 
payable in the statement of comprehensive income in accordance 
with the effective interest method.

Impairment of assets (excluding goodwill)
At each balance sheet date, the Group reviews the carrying 
amounts of its oil and gas assets to assess whether there is an 
indication that those assets may be impaired. If any such indication 
exists, the Group makes an estimate of the asset’s recoverable 
amount. An asset’s recoverable amount is the higher of an asset’s 
fair value less costs to sell and its value in use. In assessing value in 
use, the estimated future cash flows attributable to the asset are 
discounted to their present value using a pre-tax discount rate that 
reflects current market assessments of the time value of money and 
the risks specific to the asset.

If the recoverable amount of an asset is estimated to be less than its 
carrying amount, the carrying amount of the asset is reduced to its 
recoverable amount. An impairment loss is recognised immediately 
in the statement of comprehensive income.

Where an impairment loss subsequently reverses, the carrying 
amount of the asset is increased to the revised estimate of its 
recoverable amount, but only so that the increased carrying 
amount does not exceed the carrying amount that would have been 
determined had no impairment loss been recognised for the asset 
in prior years. A reversal of an impairment loss is recognised 
immediately in the statement of comprehensive income.

Goodwill
Goodwill acquired in a business combination is initially measured at 
cost, being the excess of the cost of the business combination over 
the net fair value of the identifiable assets, liabilities and contingent 
liabilities of the entity at the date of acquisition. Following initial 
recognition, goodwill is stated at cost less any accumulated 
impairment losses. Goodwill is reviewed for impairment annually or 
more frequently if events or changes in circumstances indicate that 
such carrying value may be impaired.

For the purposes of impairment testing, goodwill acquired is 
allocated to the cash-generating units that are expected to benefit 
from the synergies of the combination. Each unit or units to which 
goodwill is allocated represents the lowest level within the Group at 
which the goodwill is monitored for internal management purposes.

Impairment is determined by assessing the recoverable amount of 
the cash-generating unit to which the goodwill relates. Where the 
recoverable amount of the cash-generating unit is less than the 
carrying amount of the cash-generating unit and related goodwill, 
an impairment loss is recognised.

Where goodwill has been allocated to a cash-generating unit and 
part of the operation within the unit is disposed of, the goodwill 
associated with the operation disposed of is included in the 
carrying amount of the operation when determining the gain or 
loss on disposal of the operation. Goodwill disposed of in this 
circumstance is measured based on the relative values of the 
operation disposed of and the portion of the cash-generating 
units retained.

Non-current assets held for sale
Non-current assets classified as held for sale are measured at the 
lower of carrying amount and fair value less costs to sell.

Non-current assets are classified as held for sale if their carrying 
amount will be recovered through a sale transaction rather than 
through continuing use. This condition is regarded as met only 
when the sale is highly probable and the asset is available for 
immediate sale in its present condition. Management must be 
committed to the sale which should be expected to qualify for 
recognition as a completed sale within one year from the date 
of classification.

Financial assets
Financial assets within the scope of IAS 39 are classified as financial 
assets at fair value through profit or loss, loans and receivables, 
held-to-maturity investments, available-for-sale financial investments, 
or as derivatives designated as hedging instruments in an effective 
hedge, as appropriate. The Group determines the classification of its 
financial assets at initial recognition.

All assets are recognised initially at fair value plus transaction costs, 
except in the case of financial assets recorded at fair value through 
profit or loss.

Purchases or sales of financial assets that require delivery of assets 
within a timeframe established by regulation or convention in the 
marketplace (regular way trades) are recognised on the trade date.

The Group’s financial assets include cash and short term deposits, 
trade and other receivables, loans and other receivables, quoted and 
unquoted financial instruments and derivative financial instruments.

Subsequent measurement of financial assets depends on their 
classification as described below:

Financial assets at fair value through profit or loss (FVTPL)
Financial assets are classified as at FVTPL when the financial asset 
is either held for trading or designated as at FVTPL. Financial assets 
are classified as held for trading if they are acquired for the purpose 
of selling or repurchasing in the near term. Derivatives are also 
classified as held for trading unless they are designated as 
effective hedging instruments as defined by IAS 39. 

Financial assets at FVTPL are stated at fair value, with any gains 
or losses arising on remeasurement recognised immediately in the 
income statement within revenue for commodity derivatives or cost 
of sales for foreign exchange derivatives.

Financial assets designated upon initial recognition at FVTPL are 
designated at their initial recognition date and only if the criteria 
under IAS 39 are satisfied.

The Group evaluates its financial assets held for trading, other than 
derivatives, to determine whether the intention to sell them in the 
near term is still appropriate. Where the Group is unable to trade 
these financial assets or management’s intention to sell them in the 
foreseeable future changes significantly, the Group may elect to 
reclassify these assets. The reclassification to loans and receivables, 
available-for-sale or held-to-maturity depends on the nature of the 
asset. This evaluation does not affect any financial assets designated 
at FVTPL using the fair value option at designation. These 
instruments cannot be reclassified after initial recognition.

Held-to-maturity investments
Non-derivative financial assets with fixed or determinable payments 
and fixed maturity are classified as held-to-maturity when the Group 
has the positive intention and ability to hold them to maturity. After 
initial measurement, held-to-maturity investments are measured 
at amortised cost using the effective interest method (EIR), less 
impairment. Amortised cost is calculated by taking into account 
any discount or premium on acquisition and fees or costs that are an 
integral part of the EIR. The EIR amortisation and losses arising from 
impairment are included in the profit or loss. 

91

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014NOTES TO THE GROUP FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2014

2. Summary of significant accounting policies (continued)
Available-for-sale financial investments
Listed and unlisted shares held by the Group that are traded in an 
active market are classified as being available-for-sale and are stated 
at fair value. Gains and losses arising from changes in fair value are 
recognised in other comprehensive income and accumulated in the 
available-for-sale reserve with the exception of impairment losses 
which are recognised directly in profit or loss. Where the investment 
is disposed of or is determined to be impaired, the cumulative gain 
or loss previously recognised in the available-for-sale reserve is 
reclassified to profit or loss. 

Loans and receivables 
These include trade receivables, loans and other receivables that 
have fixed or determinable payments that are not quoted in an 
active market and are measured at amortised cost using the effective 
interest method, less any impairment. Interest income is recognised 
by applying the effective interest rate, except for short term 
receivables when the recognition of interest would be immaterial.

Impairment of financial assets
The Group assesses, at each reporting date, whether there is any 
objective evidence that a financial asset is impaired. A financial 
asset is deemed to be impaired where there is objective evidence 
of impairment that, as a result of one or more events that have 
occurred after the initial recognition of the asset, the estimated 
future cash flows of the investment have been affected.

For listed and unlisted equity investments classified as available-
for-sale, a significant or prolonged decline in the fair value of the 
security below its cost is considered to be objective evidence of 
impairment. When an available-for-sale financial asset is considered 
to be impaired, cumulative gains and losses previously recognised 
in other comprehensive income are reclassified to profit or loss in 
the period. In respect of equity securities, impairment losses 
previously recognised in profit or loss are not reversed through 
profit or loss but through other comprehensive income. Any 
increase in fair value subsequent to an impairment loss is 
recognised in other comprehensive income.

For financial assets carried at amortised cost, the amount of the 
impairment is the difference between the asset’s carrying amount 
and the present value of estimated future cash flows, discounted at 
the financial asset’s original effective interest rate. The carrying 
amount is reduced through use of an allowance account and the 
amount of the loss is recognised in profit or loss.

recognised in shareholders’ equity is transferred to profit and 
loss when the forecast transaction which was the subject of the 
hedge occurs.

Net investment hedge
Hedges of net investments in foreign operations are accounted for in 
a similar manner as cash flow hedges. The gain or loss accumulated 
in shareholders´ equity is transferred to the profit or loss at the time 
the foreign operation is disposed of.

Derivatives that do not qualify for hedge accounting
When derivatives do not qualify for hedge accounting, changes in 
fair value are recognised immediately in the profit or loss.

Trade receivables
Trade receivables are recognised initially at fair value and 
subsequently measured at amortised cost less provision 
for impairment. 

Inventories
Inventories of consumable well supplies are stated at the lower of 
cost and net realisable value, cost being determined on an average 
cost basis. Inventories of hydrocarbons are stated at the lower of 
cost and net realisable value. 

Under/over-lift 
Under or over-lifted positions of hydrocarbons are valued at 
market prices prevailing at the balance sheet date. An under-lift 
of production from a field is included in current receivables and 
valued at the reporting date spot price or prevailing contract price 
and an over-lift of production from a field is included in current 
liabilities and valued at the reporting date spot price or prevailing 
contract price.

Cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents includes cash at bank, cash in hand, 
outstanding bank overdrafts and highly liquid interest bearing 
securities with original maturities of three months or less. 

Equity
Share capital
The balance classified as equity share capital includes the total 
net proceeds (both nominal value and share premium) on issue of 
registered share capital of the parent Company. Share issue costs 
associated with the issuance of new equity are treated as a direct 
reduction of proceeds. 

Derivatives
Derivatives are initially recognised at fair value on the date 
a derivative contract is entered into and are subsequently 
remeasured at their fair value. The method of recognising the 
resulting gain or loss depends on whether the derivative is 
designated as a hedging instrument.

Merger reserve
Merger reserve represents the difference between the market value 
of shares issued to effect business combinations less the nominal 
value of shares issued. The merger reserve in the Group financial 
statements also includes the consolidation adjustments that arise 
under the application of the pooling of interest method.

The Group categorises derivatives as follows:

Fair value hedge
Changes in the fair value of derivatives that qualify as fair value 
hedging instruments are recorded in the profit or loss, together 
with any changes in the fair value of the hedged asset or liability. 
Where put options are used as hedging instruments, only the 
intrinsic value of the option is designated as the hedge, with the 
time value recorded in finance costs.

Cash flow hedge
The effective portion of changes in the fair value of derivatives that 
qualify as cash flow hedges are recognised in other comprehensive 
income. The gain or loss relating to the ineffective portion is 
recognised immediately in the profit or loss. Amounts accumulated 
in shareholders’ equity are transferred to the profit or loss in the 
period when the hedged item will affect the profit or loss. When 
the hedged item no longer meets the requirements for hedge 
accounting, expires or is sold, any accumulated gain or loss 

Cash flow hedge reserve
For cash flow hedges, the effective portion of the gain or loss on the 
hedging instrument is recognised directly as other comprehensive 
income in the cash flow hedge reserve. Upon settlement of the 
hedged item, the change in fair value is transferred to the statement 
of comprehensive income.

Available-for-sale reserve
Gains and losses (with the exception of impairment losses) 
arising from changes in available-for-sale financial investments are 
recognised in the available-for-sale reserve until such time that the 
investment is disposed of, where it is reclassified to profit or loss.

Share-based payments reserve
Equity-settled share-based payment transactions are measured 
at the fair value of the services received, and the corresponding 
increase in equity is recorded directly at the fair value of the 
services received. The share-based payments reserve includes 
treasury shares.

92

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 20142. Summary of significant accounting policies (continued)
Retained earnings
Retained earnings contain the accumulated results attributable to 
the shareholders of the parent Company. 

Employee Benefit Trust
EnQuest PLC shares held by the Group are deducted from the 
share-based payments reserve and are recognised at cost. 
Consideration received for the sale of such shares is also 
recognised in equity, with any difference between the proceeds 
from the sale and the original cost being taken to reserves. No gain 
or loss is recognised in the statement of comprehensive income on 
the purchase, sale, issue or cancellation of equity shares.

Provisions
Decommissioning
Provision for future decommissioning costs is made in full when the 
Group has an obligation to dismantle and remove a facility or an 
item of plant and to restore the site on which it is located, and when 
a reasonable estimate of that liability can be made. The amount 
recognised is the present value of the estimated future expenditure. 
An amount equivalent to the discounted initial provision for 
decommissioning costs is capitalised and amortised over the life of 
the underlying asset on a unit-of-production basis over proven and 
probable reserves. Any change in the present value of the estimated 
expenditure is reflected as an adjustment to the provision and the oil 
and gas asset. 

The unwinding of the discount applied to future decommissioning 
provisions is included under finance costs in the statement of 
comprehensive income.

Other
Provisions are recognised when the Group has a present legal or 
constructive obligation as a result of past events, it is probable that 
an outflow of resources will be required to settle the obligation and 
a reliable estimate can be made of the amount of the obligation.

Derecognition of financial assets and liabilities 
Financial assets
A financial asset (or, where applicable, a part of a financial asset) 
is derecognised where:

 ` the rights to receive cash flows from the asset have expired;
 ` the Group retains the right to receive cash flows from the asset, 

but has assumed an obligation to pay them in full without 
material delay to a third party under a ‘pass-through’ 
arrangement; or

 ` the Group has transferred its rights to receive cash flows from 

the asset and either (a) has transferred substantially all the risks 
and rewards of the asset, or (b) has neither transferred nor 
retained substantially all the risks and rewards of the asset, but 
has transferred control of the asset.

Financial liabilities
A financial liability is derecognised when the obligation under the 
liability is discharged, cancelled or expires.

If an existing financial liability is replaced by another from the 
same lender, on substantially different terms, or the terms of an 
existing liability are substantially modified, such an exchange or 
modification is treated as a derecognition of the original liability 
and the recognition of a new liability such that the difference in 
the respective carrying amounts together with any costs or fees 
incurred are recognised in the statement of comprehensive income.

Interest-bearing loans and borrowings
Interest-bearing loans and borrowings are recognised initially at 
fair value, net of transaction costs incurred. Transaction costs are 
amortised over the life of the facility.

Borrowing costs are stated at amortised cost using the effective 
interest method.

The effective interest method is a method of calculating the 
amortised cost of a financial liability and of allocating interest 
expense over the relevant period. The effective interest rate is the 
rate that exactly discounts estimated future cash payments through 
the expected life of the financial liability, or a shorter period to the 
net carrying amount of the financial liability where appropriate. 

Bonds
Bonds are measured on an amortised cost basis.

Leases
The determination of whether an arrangement is, or contains, a 
lease is based on the substance of the arrangement at the inception 
date. The arrangement is assessed for whether fulfilment of the 
arrangement is dependent on the use of a specific asset or assets 
or the arrangement conveys a right to use the asset or assets, even 
if that right is not explicitly specified in an arrangement. Finance 
leases that transfer substantially all the risks and benefits incidental 
to ownership of the leased item to the Group, are capitalised at the 
commencement of the lease at the fair value of the leased property 
or, if lower, at the present value of the minimum lease payments. 
Lease payments are apportioned between finance charges and 
reduction of the lease liability so as to achieve a constant rate of 
interest on the remaining balance of the liability. Finance charges 
are recognised in finance costs in the income statement.

A leased asset is depreciated over the useful life of the asset. 
However, if there is no reasonable certainty that the Group will 
obtain ownership by the end of the lease term, the asset is 
depreciated over the shorter of the estimated useful life of the 
asset and the lease term.

Operating lease payments are recognised as an operating expense 
in the income statement on a straight-line basis over the lease term. 

Revenue
Revenue is recognised to the extent that it is probable 
economic benefits will flow to the Group and the revenue can 
be reliably measured. 

Oil and gas revenues comprise the Group’s share of sales from the 
processing or sale of hydrocarbons on an entitlement basis, when 
the significant risks and rewards of ownership have been passed to 
the buyer.

Tariff revenue is recognised in the period in which the services are 
provided at the agreed contract rates. 

Gains or losses arising on remeasurement of commodity derivatives 
designated at FVTPL are recognised immediately within revenue.

Exceptional items 
As permitted by IAS 1 (Revised), Presentation of Financial 
Statements, certain items are presented separately. The items that 
the Group separately presents as exceptional on the face of the 
statement of comprehensive income are those material items of 
income and expense which because of the nature and expected 
infrequency of the events giving rise to them, merit separate 
presentation to allow shareholders to understand better the 
elements of financial performance in the year, so as to facilitate 
comparison with prior periods and to assess better trends in 
financial performance.

Depletion of fair value uplift to property, plant and equipment 
on acquiring strategic investments
IFRS requires that a fair value exercise is undertaken allocating the 
cost of acquiring controlling interests to the fair value of the acquired 
identifiable assets, liabilities and contingent liabilities. Any difference 
between the cost of acquiring the interest and the fair value of the 
acquired net assets, which includes identified contingent liabilities, is 
recognised as acquired goodwill. The fair value exercise is performed 
as at the date of acquisition.

93

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014NOTES TO THE GROUP FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2014

2. Summary of significant accounting policies (continued)
The Directors have determined that for strategic investments it is 
important to identify separately the earnings impact of increased 
depletion arising from the acquisition date fair value uplifts made 
to property, plant and equipment over their useful economic lives. 
As a result of the nature of fair value assessments in the oil and 
gas industry the value attributed to strategic assets is subjective, 
based on a wide range of complex variables at a point in time. The 
subsequent depletion of the fair value uplifts bear little relationship 
to current market conditions, operational performance or cash 
generation. Management therefore reports and monitors the 
business performance of strategic investments before the impact of 
depletion of fair value uplifts to property, plant and equipment and 
the uplifts are excluded from the business result presented in the 
Group statement of comprehensive income.

Employee benefits
Short term employee benefits
Short term employee benefits such as salaries, social premiums and 
holiday pay, are expensed when incurred. 

Taxes
Income taxes
Current tax assets and liabilities are measured at the amount 
expected to be recovered from or paid to the taxation authorities, 
based on tax rates and laws that are enacted or substantively 
enacted by the balance sheet date.

Deferred tax is provided in full on temporary differences arising 
between the tax bases of assets and liabilities and their carrying 
amounts in the Group financial statements. However, deferred tax 
is not accounted for if it arises from initial recognition of an asset or 
liability in a transaction other than a business combination that at 
the time of the transaction affects neither accounting nor taxable 
profit or loss. Deferred tax is measured on an undiscounted basis 
using tax rates (and laws) that have been enacted or substantively 
enacted by the balance sheet date and are expected to apply when 
the related deferred tax asset is realised or the deferred tax liability 
is settled. Deferred tax assets are recognised to the extent that it is 
probable that future taxable profits will be available against which 
the temporary differences can be utilised. 

Pension obligations
The Group’s pension obligations consist of defined contribution 
plans. A defined contribution plan is a pension plan under which 
the Group pays fixed contributions. The Group has no further 
payment obligations once the contributions have been paid. The 
amount charged to the statement of comprehensive income in 
respect of pension costs reflects the contributions payable in the 
year. Differences between contributions payable during the year 
and contributions actually paid are shown as either accrued 
liabilities or prepaid assets in the balance sheet.

Share-based payment transactions
Employees (including Directors) of the Group receive remuneration 
in the form of share-based payment transactions, whereby 
employees render services in exchange for shares or rights over 
shares (equity-settled transactions) of EnQuest PLC.

Equity-settled transactions
The cost of equity-settled transactions with employees is measured 
by reference to the fair value at the date on which they are granted. 
In valuing equity-settled transactions, no account is taken of any 
service or performance conditions, other than conditions linked to 
the price of the shares of EnQuest PLC (market conditions) or 
‘non-vesting’ conditions, if applicable.

The cost of equity-settled transactions is recognised over the 
period in which the relevant employees become fully entitled to the 
award (the vesting period). The cumulative expense recognised for 
equity-settled transactions at each reporting date until the vesting 
date reflects the extent to which the vesting period has expired and 
the Group’s best estimate of the number of equity instruments that 
will ultimately vest. The statement of comprehensive income charge 
or credit for a period represents the movement in cumulative 
expense recognised as at the beginning and end of that period.

No expense is recognised for awards that do not ultimately vest, 
except for awards where vesting is conditional upon a market or 
non-vesting condition, which are treated as vesting irrespective of 
whether or not the market or non-vesting condition is satisfied, 
provided that all other performance conditions are satisfied. Equity 
awards cancelled are treated as vesting immediately on the date of 
cancellation, and any expense not recognised for the award at that 
date is recognised in the statement of comprehensive income.

Deferred tax liabilities are recognised for taxable temporary 
differences arising on investments in subsidiaries and interests in 
joint ventures, except where the Group is able to control the 
reversal of the temporary difference and it is probable that the 
temporary difference will not reverse in the foreseeable future.

The carrying amount of deferred income tax assets is reviewed at 
each balance sheet date. Deferred income tax assets and liabilities 
are offset only if a legal right exists to offset current tax assets 
against current tax liabilities, the deferred income taxes relate to 
the same taxation authority and that authority permits the Group to 
make a single net payment.

Production taxes
In addition to corporate income taxes, the Group’s financial 
statements also include and disclose production taxes on net 
income determined from oil and gas production. 

Production tax relates to Petroleum Revenue Tax (PRT) and is 
accounted for under IAS 12 since it has the characteristics of an 
income tax as it is imposed under Government authority and the 
amount payable is based on taxable profits of the relevant fields. 
Current and deferred PRT is provided on the same basis as 
described above for income taxes. 

Field allowances
The UK taxation regime provides for a reduction in ring fence 
supplementary corporation tax where investments in new or 
existing UK assets qualify for a relief known as field allowances. 
Eligible assets qualify for field allowances depending on the size, 
type or nature of the field and are granted when DECC approves a 
field development plan or addendum to a field development plan. 
Field allowances are only triggered when production from the field 
commences. The Group is eligible for a number of field allowances 
which will materially reduce the level of future supplementary 
corporation taxation. Field allowances are recognised as a 
reduction in the charge to taxation in the years claimed.

94

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 20143. Segment information 
Management have considered the requirements of IFRS 8, in regard to the determination of operating segments and concluded that the 
Group has only one significant operating segment, being the exploration for, extraction and production of hydrocarbons. Operations are 
located and managed into the following two business units, North Sea and Malaysia, therefore all information is being presented for 
geographical segments. The information reported to the Chief Operating Decision Maker does not include an analysis of assets and 
liabilities and accordingly IFRS 8 does not require this information to be presented.

Year ended 31 December 2014

Revenue:
External customers

Total Group revenue

Income/(expenses)
Depreciation and depletion
Impairment of investments
Exploration write offs and impairments
Gain on disposal of assets
Impairment of oil and gas assets
Negative goodwill

Segment profit/(loss)

Other disclosures: 
Capital expenditure

North Sea
US$’000

Malaysia
US$’000

All other 
segments
US$’000

Total segments
US$’000

Adjustments 
and eliminations
US$’000

Consolidated
US$’000

956,549

956,549

53,335

53,335

–

–

1,009,884

18,611

1,028,495

1,009,884

18,611

1,028,495

234,383
(1,316)
(127,006)
2,019
(678,801)
–

17,586
–
(21,932)
–
–
28,630

–
–
(3,613)
–
–
–

251,969
(1,316)
(152,551)
2,019
(678,801)
28,630

–
–
–
–
–
–

251,969
(1,316)
(152,551)
2,019
(678,801)
28,630

(581,609)

22,121

(6,193)

(565,681)

(13,007)

(578,688)

985,636

192,319

2,763

1,180,718

–

1,180,718

All other adjustments are part of the detailed reconciliations presented further below.

Year ended 31 December 2013

Revenue:
External customers

Total Group revenue

Income/(expenses)
Depreciation and depletion
Impairment of investments
Exploration write offs and impairments

Segment profit/(loss)

Other disclosures: 
Capital expenditure

North Sea
US$’000

Malaysia
US$’000

All other 
segments
US$’000

Total segments
US$’000

Adjustments and  
eliminations
US$’000

Consolidated
US$’000

961,199

961,199

232,568
(312)
(1,966)

–

–

–
–
–

–

–

–
–
–

961,199

961,199

(5,954)

955,245

(5,954)

955,245

232,568
(312)
(1,966)

–
–
–

232,568
(312)
(1,966)

365,907

(1,435)

1,530

366,002

(35,067)

330,935

1,358,183

6,249

5,526

1,369,958

–

1,369,958

Adjustments and eliminations
Finance income and costs and gains and losses on derivatives are not allocated to individual segments as the underlying instruments are 
managed on a Group basis.

Capital expenditure consists of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets including assets from the acquisition of subsidiaries.

Inter-segment revenues are eliminated on consolidation.

Reconciliation of profit:

Segment (loss)/profit
Finance income
Finance expense
Gains and losses on derivatives

(Loss)/profit before tax

Year ended 
31 December 
2014
US$’000

Year ended 
31 December 
2013
US$’000

(565,681)
1,814
(79,713)
64,892

366,002
2,030
(38,830)
1,733

(578,688)

330,935

Revenue from two customers (2013: one customer) each exceed 10% of the Group’s consolidated revenue and amounted respectively to 
US$472,729,000 and US$347,900,000 arising from sales of crude oil above (2013: US$901,936,000) in the North Sea operating segment.

All non-current assets of the Group are located in the United Kingdom except for US$170,948,000 (2013: US$13,414,000) located in Malaysia 
and US$4,823,000 (2013: US$5,526,000) located in Egypt.

95

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014NOTES TO THE GROUP FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2014

4. Exceptional items and depletion of fair value uplift

Recognised in arriving at profit/(loss) from operations before tax:
Unrealised mark-to-market gains of derivatives
Impairment of available-for-sale investments (note 14)
Impairment of oil and gas assets (note 10)
Impairment of exploration and evaluation assets (note 12)
Gain on disposal of intangible oil and gas assets (note 12)
Depletion of fair value uplift
SVT tariff operator reconciliation
Negative goodwill

Tax

Year ended 
31 December 
2014
US$’000

Year ended 
31 December 
2013
US$’000

(19,225)
1,316
678,801
151,982
(2,019)
6,870
32,843
(28,630)

821,938
(508,120)

(313,818)

(1,733)
312
–
–
–
8,509
–
–

7,088
(5,276)

1,812

Unrealised mark-to-market gains and losses of derivatives
These include unrealised mark-to-market gains and losses on commodity and foreign exchange instruments which are included within 
revenue (note 5(a)), costs of sales (note 5(b)) and finance expenses (note (6)). The separate presentation of these items best reflects the 
underlying performance of the business as it distinguishes between the temporary timing differences associated with re-measurement 
under IAS 39 rules and actual realised gains and losses.

Impairment of available-for-sale investments
As consideration for the disposal of the held for sale Petisovci asset in 2011, the Group received an investment in Ascent Resources plc. The 
accounting valuation of this shareholding at 31 December 2014 resulted in a non-cash impairment of US$1,714,000, of which US$1,316,000 
was recognised in the income statement (2013: US$312,000). As there was a reversal of an impairment in 2013, which was taken to the 
available-for-sale reserve then, a portion of the current year impairment must be taken to the reserve, as the income statement impact 
cannot exceed the cumulative decline in the value of the investment.

Impairment of oil and gas assets
As part of the annual impairment review process, impairment triggers were highlighted which has led to a US$678,801,000 impairment of 
Alma/Galia and Don fields (refer to note 10).

Impairment of exploration and evaluation assets
Exploration and evaluation assets were reviewed and this has led to an impairment primarily of Kildrummy, Cairngorm, Crawford Porter and 
some GKA acreage in the UK, SB307 and SB308 blocks in Malaysia and the North West October block in Egypt (refer to note 12). 

Gain on disposal of intangible oil and gas assets
In November 2014 the Group disposed of its Dutch asset P8a for US$2,162,000 resulting in a gain of US$2,019,000.

Depletion of fair value uplift
Additional depletion arising from the fair value uplift of Petrofac Energy Developments Limited’s (PEDL) oil and gas assets on acquisition of 
US$6,870,000 (2013: US$8,509,000) is included within cost of sales in the statement of comprehensive income. 

Operator SVT tariff reconciliation
SVT terminal operating costs are allocated to East of Shetland users based on each user’s delivered production throughput, as a 
percentage of the total terminal throughput. Costs are further allocated, based on a user’s share of two associated services – Stabilised 
Crude Oil processing (SCO) & Liquified Petroleum Gas processing (LPG). SVT costs incurred during each month are provisionally allocated 
and charged to users based on a user’s estimated share of costs (based on estimated throughput volumes per service). At year end, a 
process occurs whereby the terminal operator reconciles each user’s estimated share of costs against its actual share (based on the actual 
total spend and actual terminal throughput for that given year).

In 2013, as a direct result of EnQuest’s strong production performance versus other SVT users’ lower than expected throughput in 2013, 
EnQuest’s actual share of SCO/LPG throughput at year end was greater than estimated. This factor combined with a higher base level cost 
at SVT contributed to the exceptional value arising from the 2013 reconciliation. In addition, EnQuest also incurred a small excess capacity 
charge due to the use of terminal capacity in excess of its ownership share entitlement. The charge recognised in the year ended 
31 December 2014 in relation to the 2013 reconciliation process was $30,369,000.

The Terminal Operator (BP) has undertaken a number of technical studies to map out the various operational and investment cases required 
to facilitate the terminal life to 2025, and beyond. These technical studies are now complete and will be presented to the terminal owners at 
the end of Q1/2015.

The next steps will be for the Terminal Owners to make a number of key decisions relating to what investments are necessary to facilitate a 
terminal life to 2025 and/or 2040. 

Negative goodwill
During the year ended 31 December 2014, the Group acquired the PM8/Seligi assets in Malaysia. The assets and liabilities on acquisition 
have been fair valued and as the fair value is greater than the deemed consideration then a gain of US$28,630,000 has been recognised 
(refer to note 13).

Tax
The tax impact on the exceptional items is calculated based on the tax rate applicable to each exceptional item.

96

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 20145. Revenue and expenses 
(a) Revenue and other operating income

Revenue from crude oil sales(i)
Unrealised gains and losses on commodity derivative contracts(i)
Tariff revenue
Other operating revenue 

Year ended 
31 December
2014
US$’000

1,002,210
18,611
7,564
110

Year ended 
31 December
2013
US$’000

953,752
(5,954)
7,445
2

1,028,495

955,245

(i) 

Included within revenue and other operating income are realised gains of US$31,749,000 (2013: nil) and unrealised gains of US$18,611,000 on the Group’s commodity 
derivatives contracts (2013: losses of US$5,954,000) which are either ineffective for hedge accounting purposes or held for trading purposes.

(b) Cost of sales

Cost of operations(i)
Tariff and transportation expenses
Unrealised gains and losses on foreign exchange derivative contracts(i)
Change in lifting position
Crude oil inventory movement (note 15) 
Depletion of oil and gas assets (note 10)

Year ended 
31 December
2014
US$’000

Year ended 
31 December
2013
US$’000

296,211
140,339
18,085
8,157
4,535
244,531

711,858

234,501
73,452
(7,687)
2,649
(1,426)
225,654

527,143

(i) 

Included within cost of operations are realised gains of US$55,273,000 (2013: US$7,339,000) and unrealised losses of US$18,085,000 (2013: gains of US$7,687,000) on 
foreign exchange derivative contracts ineffective for hedge accounting.

(c) Exploration and evaluation expenses 

Unsuccessful exploration expenditure written off (note 12)
Impairment charge (note 12)
Pre-licence costs expensed

(d) General and administration expenses

Staff costs (note 5(g))
Depreciation (note 10)
Other general and administration costs
Recharge of costs to operations and joint venture partners

(e) Other income

Net foreign exchange gains

Year ended 
31 December
2014
US$’000

Year ended 
31 December
2013
US$’000

568
151,982
3,465

156,015

704
1,262
6,675

8,641

Year ended 
31 December
2014
US$’000

Year ended 
31 December
2013
US$’000

107,476
7,438
26,624
(125,074)

108,226
6,914
21,450
(111,566)

16,464

25,024

Year ended 
31 December
2014
US$’000

27,176

Year ended 
31 December
2013
US$’000

–

97

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014 
NOTES TO THE GROUP FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2014

5. Revenue and expenses (continued)
(f) Other expenses

Net foreign exchange losses

(g) Staff costs 

Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Defined contribution pension costs
Expense of share-based payments (note 19)
Other staff costs

Total employee costs
Contractor costs

Year ended 
31 December
2014
US$’000

Year ended 
31 December
2013
US$’000

–

26,390

Year ended 
31 December
2014
US$’000

Year ended 
31 December
2013
US$’000

46,203
3,540
3,366
8,468
3,622

65,199
42,277

44,790
5,128
3,267
8,193
3,645

65,023
43,203

107,476

108,226

The average number of persons employed by the Group during the year was 356 (2013: 245).

Details of remuneration, pension entitlement and incentive arrangements for each Director are set out in the Remuneration Report on 
pages 59 to 72.

(h) Auditor’s remuneration 
The following amounts were payable by the Group to its auditor Ernst & Young LLP during the year: 

Fees payable to the Group’s auditor for the audit of the Group’s annual accounts

Fees payable to the Group’s auditor and its associates for other services:
The audit of the Group’s subsidiaries
Audit related assurance services (interim review)
Tax advisory services(i)
Other assurance services

(i)  No costs were capitalised in the current year.

6. Finance costs/income

Finance costs:
Loan interest payable 
Bond interest payable
Unwinding of discount on decommissioning provisions (note 23)
Unwinding of discount on financial liability (note 21)
Fair value loss on financial instruments at fair value through profit or loss (note 21)
Finance charges payable under finance leases
Amortisation of finance fees
Other financial expenses

Less: amounts included in the cost of qualifying assets

Finance income:
Bank interest receivable
Unwinding of discount on financial asset (note 21)
Other financial income

Year ended 
31 December
2014
US$’000

Year ended 
31 December
2013
US$’000

326

246
69
159
137

611

937

336

272
73
318
43

706

1,042

Year ended 
31 December
2014
US$’000

Year ended 
31 December
2013
US$’000

5,915
46,200
12,093
132
22,656
2
6,771
11,768

105,537
(3,169)

102,368

304
877
633

1,814

2,954
10,360
12,588
–
–
2
7,700
6,467

40,071
(1,241)

38,830

429
1,447
154

2,030

Fair value gains and losses on financial instruments at fair value through profit or loss relate to the movement in the time value portion of 
the fair value of commodity put option contracts where the intrinsic value has been designated as an effective hedge of production.

98

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 20147. Income tax
(a) Income tax
The major components of income tax expense are as follows:

Group statement of comprehensive income
Current income tax
Current income tax charge
Adjustments in respect of current income tax of previous years

Current overseas income tax
Current income tax charge
Adjustments in respect of current income tax of previous years

Total current income tax

Deferred income tax
Relating to origination and reversal of temporary differences
Adjustments in respect of changes in tax rates
Adjustments in respect of deferred income tax of previous years

Deferred overseas income tax
Relating to origination and reversal of temporary differences
Adjustments in respect of deferred income tax of previous years

Total deferred income tax

Income tax expense reported in statement of comprehensive income

Year ended 
31 December
2014
US$’000

Year ended 
31 December
2013
US$’000

4,684
(6,540)

14,462
(2,075)

5,355
2,640

6,139

(3,379)
703

9,711

(410,422)
–
2,606

133,314
409
(2,112)

1,685
(2,287)

(408,418)

(402,279)

9
–

131,620

141,331

(b) Reconciliation of total income tax charge
A reconciliation between the income tax charge and the product of accounting profit multiplied by the UK statutory tax rate is as follows:

(Loss)/profit before tax

Statutory rate of corporation tax in the UK of 62% (2013: 62%)
Supplementary corporation tax non-deductible expenditure
Non-deductible expenditure
Deductible lease expenditure
Petroleum revenue tax (net of income tax benefit)
North Sea tax reliefs 
Tax in respect of non-ring fence trade
Deferred tax rate decrease
North Sea oil and gas decommissioning rate restriction
Adjustments in respect of prior years
Overseas tax rate differences
Share-based payments
Other differences

At the effective income tax rate of 70% (2013: 43%)

Year ended 
31 December
2014
US$’000

Year ended 
31 December
2013
US$’000

(578,688)

330,935

(358,787)
(11,612)
(12,805)
–
20,190
(93,726)
44,160
–
5,323
(3,581)
1,162
5,336
2,061

205,179
15,250
508
(38,097)
21,948
(55,034)
(5,184)
409
2,824
(3,482)
(2,171)
(225)
(594)

(402,279)

141,331

99

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014NOTES TO THE GROUP FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2014

7. Income tax (continued)
(c) Deferred income tax
Deferred income tax relates to the following:

Deferred tax liability
Accelerated capital allowances
Deferred PRT

Deferred tax asset
Losses
Decommissioning liability
Other temporary differences

Deferred tax expense

Deferred tax liabilities, net

Reflected in balance sheet as follows:
Deferred tax assets
Deferred tax liabilities

Deferred tax liabilities, net

Reconciliation of deferred tax liabilities, net

At 1 January
Tax expense during the period recognised in profit or loss
Tax expense during the period recognised in other comprehensive income
Deferred taxes acquired 

At 31 December

Group balance sheet

Group profit and loss account

2014
US$’000

2013
US$’000

2014
US$’000

2013
US$’000

1,589,226
287,874

1,456,498
151,825

35,246
43,116

387,107
47,910

1,877,100

1,608,323

(1,078,095)
(203,496)
(132,873)

(647,228)
(114,113)
(100,720)

(430,867)
(30,986)
(24,927)

(287,822)
16,057
(31,632)

(408,418)

131,620

(1,414,464)

(862,061)

462,636

746,262

(40,401)
503,037

(14,731)
760,993

462,636

746,262

2014
US$’000

(746,262)
 408,418
 (96,894)
 (27,898)

2013
US$’000

 (609,087)
 (131,620)
 (75)
 (5,480)

 (462,636)

 (746,262)

(d) Tax losses 
Deferred income tax assets are recognised for the carry-forward of unused tax losses and unused tax credits to the extent that it 
is probable that taxable profits will be available against which the unused tax losses/credits can be utilised.

The Group has unused UK mainstream corporation tax losses of US$16,635,000 (2013: US$2,481,000) for which no deferred tax asset has 
been recognised at the balance sheet date due to the uncertainty of recovery of these losses. 

The Group has unused overseas tax losses in Canada of approximately CAD$12,735,000 (2013: CAD$14,880,000) and in Holland of nil 
(2013: €1,070,000) for which no deferred tax asset has been recognised at the balance sheet date. The tax losses in Canada have expiry 
periods of between seven and 20 years, none of which expire in 2015 and which arose following the change in control of the UK Stratic 
Group in 2010. Tax losses in Holland can be carried forward for a period of up to nine years.

The Group has pre-trading expenditure incurred in Malaysia on licences SB307 and SB308 of approximately US$29,700,000 for which no 
deferred tax asset has been recognised at the balance sheet date. The Group also has unrecognised pre-trading expenditure in Egypt at 
the end of 2014 of US$3,300,000. 

No deferred tax has been provided on unremitted earnings of overseas subsidiaries. Finance Act 2009 exempted foreign dividends from 
the scope of UK corporation tax where certain conditions are satisfied.

(e) Change in legislation
Finance Act 2013 enacted a change in the mainstream corporation tax rate, reducing it from 23% to 21% with effect from 1 April 2014 and 
20% with effect from 1 April 2015. The impact of the change in tax rate in 2013 was an increase in the tax charge of US$409,000.

100

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 20148. Earnings per share
The calculation of earnings per share is based on the profit after tax and on the weighted average number of Ordinary shares in issue 
during the period. 

In 2014, potentially issuable ordinary shares are excluded from the diluted earnings per ordinary share calculation, as their inclusion would 
decrease the loss per ordinary share.

Basic and diluted earnings per share are calculated as follows:

Basic
Dilutive potential of Ordinary shares granted under 
share-based incentive schemes

Diluted 

Adjusted (excluding exceptional items) 

Diluted (excluding exceptional items)

(Loss)/profit after tax

Weighted average number of 
Ordinary shares

Earnings per share

Year ended 31 December

Year ended 31 December

Year ended 31 December

2014
 US$’000

2013
US$’000

 (176,409)

 189,604

–

(176,409)

137,409

137,409

–

189,604

191,416

191,416

2014
Million

774.1

–

774.1

774.1

774.1

2013
Million

778.2

18.1

796.3

778.2

796.3

2014
US$

(0.228)

2013
US$

0.244

–

(0.006)

(0.228)

0.178

0.178

0.238

0.246

0.240

9. Dividends paid and proposed
The Company paid no dividends during the year ended 31 December 2014 (2013: nil). At 31 December 2014 there are no proposed 
dividends (2013: nil).

10. Property, plant and equipment

Cost:
At 1 January 2013
Additions
Acquired
Cost carry
Reclassified to intangible assets (note 12)
Change in decommissioning provision

At 31 December 2013
Additions
Acquired
Change in decommissioning provision

At 31 December 2014

Depletion and depreciation:
At 1 January 2013
Charge for the year

At 31 December 2013
Charge for the year
Impairment charge for the year

At 31 December 2014

Net carrying amount:
At 31 December 2014

At 31 December 2013

At 1 January 2013

Land and 
buildings
US$’000

Oil and gas 
assets
US$’000

Office furniture 
and equipment 
US$’000

–
17,272
–
–
–
–

17,272
42,665
–
–

2,878,569
840,665
52,541
415,300
(448)
(44,615)

4,142,012
839,514
206,215
82,123

21,349
6,491
–
–
–
–

27,840
5,429
–
–

 Total 
US$’000 

2,899,918
864,428
52,541
415,300
(448)
(44,615)

4,187,124
887,608
206,215
82,123

59,937

5,269,864

33,269

5,363,070

–
–

–
110
–

1,075,884
225,654

1,301,538
244,531
678,801

7,443
6,914

14,357
7,328
–

1,083,327
232,568

1,315,895
251,969
678,801

110

2,224,870

21,685

2,246,665

59,827

3,044,994

11,584

 3,116,405

17,272

2,840,474

 13,483

 2,871,229

–

1,802,685

 13,906

 1,816,591

In March 2014, the Group completed the acquisition of Centrica North Sea Oil Limited (Centrica’s) share of the UKCS Greater Kittiwake 
Area (GKA) assets as well as its 100% interest in the Kittiwake to Forties oil export pipeline. In June 2014, EnQuest completed the 
acquisition of ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Malaysia Inc’s (ExxonMobil’s) interest in the Seligi oil field and the PM8 PSC, 
located offshore Malaysia. The costs relating to these acquisitions are included within ‘Acquired’ costs.

Included within ‘Acquired’ costs in the year ended 31 December 2013, is the acquisition of a non-operated interest in the producing oil field 
Alba, in the UK Continental Shelf, which has been accounted for as an asset acquisition. 

101

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014NOTES TO THE GROUP FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2014

10. Property, plant and equipment (continued)
In the prior year, included within the ‘cost carry’ costs is the portion of the consideration payable to Nautical Petroleum plc and First Oil plc 
for 40% of the Kraken field which was through development carries, split between a US$240,000,000 ‘firm’ carry (payable on FDP approval) 
and a ‘contingent’ carry (payable up to US$144,000,000 subject to reserves determination). US$320,000,000 was included and the 
remaining US$164,176,000 balance of the ‘firm’ carry and US$80,000,000 of the ‘contingent’ carry were provided within financial liabilities 
(note 21) and provisions (note 23) respectively as at 31 December 2013.

Under the 2012 farm-out agreement with KUFPEC for a 35% share of the Alma/Galia development, KUFPEC were required to carry the 
Company for US$182,000,000. This amount was initially recognised as an ‘other receivable’ (note 21) and then transferred to PP&E as the carry 
was exhausted. During the year ended 31 December 2013, KUFPEC carried the Company for US$98,300,000 under this carry arrangement.

During the year ended 31 December 2014, there have been impairments in the Alma/Galia and Don fields of US$678,801,000 
(US$256,896,000 on a post tax basis). The impairment is principally due to the significant fall in the oil price in the latter part of 2014. Other 
factors contributing to the impairment include delays in first oil and cost increases in the case of Alma/Galia, together with the impact of 
cutting the capital programme, in response to the changing economic conditions. The only asset with a material impairment is Alma/Galia, 
where it has been written down by US$675,600,000 to the estimate of its recoverable value of US$832,900,000. This assessment of 
recoverable value is most sensitive to assumptions in respect of price and production (refer to note 11).

There was no impairment in the year ended 31 December 2013. 

The net book value at 31 December 2014 includes US$1,504,172,000 (2013: US$1,581,847,000) of pre-development assets and development 
assets under construction which are not being depreciated. Also US$49,132,000 (2013: US$7,130,000) of costs relating to the construction 
of the Group’s new Aberdeen office has not been depreciated.

The amount of borrowing costs capitalised during the year ended 31 December 2014 was US$3,169,000 (2013: US$1,241,000) and relate to 
the Alma/Galia and Kraken development projects as well as the construction of the new office building. The weighted average rate used to 
determine the amount of borrowing costs eligible for capitalisation is 1.54% (2013: 0.95%).

The net book value of property, plant and equipment held under finance leases and hire purchase contracts at 31 December 2014 was 
US$141,000 (2013: US$141,000) of oil and gas assets. The net book value of US$10,695,000 (2013: US$10,695,000) for land is held under a 
long lease. 

11. Goodwill
A summary of goodwill is presented below:

Cost
At 1 January
Additions (note 13)

At 31 December

2014
US$’000

2013
US$’000

107,760
81,557

189,317

107,760
–

107,760

The balance at 31 December 2013 represents goodwill acquired on the acquisition of Stratic and PEDL in 2010. The additions during the 
year represent the acquisition of the Greater Kittiwake Area asset. 

Goodwill acquired through business combinations has been allocated to a single cash-generating unit (CGU), the UKCS, and therefore the 
lowest level that goodwill is reviewed. 

Impairment testing of goodwill 
In accordance with IAS 36 Impairment of Assets, goodwill has been reviewed for impairment at the year end. In assessing whether goodwill 
has been impaired, the carrying amount of the CGU, including goodwill, is compared with its recoverable amount. In the prior year the 
Group used the detailed calculation performed in 2012 as the basis for the tests as allowed under IAS 36. 

The recoverable amount of the CGU has been determined on a fair value less costs to sell basis. Discounted cash flow models comprising 
asset-by-asset life of field projections using Level 3 inputs (based on IFRS 13 fair value hierarchy) have been used to determine the recoverable 
amounts. The cash flows have been modelled on a post-tax and post-decommissioning basis discounted at the Group’s post-tax weighted 
average cost of capital (WACC) of 8.8%. Risks specific to assets within the CGU are reflected within the cash flow forecasts.

Key assumptions used in calculations
The key assumptions required for the calculation of the CGU are:

 ` oil prices;
 ` production volumes;
 ` discount rates;
 ` opex, capex and decommissioning costs; and
 ` taxation.

Oil prices are based on forward price curves for the first three years and thereafter at US$85 per barrel inflated at 2% per annum from 2015. 

102

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 201411. Goodwill (continued)
Production volumes are based on life of field production profiles for each asset within the CGU. The production volumes used in the 
calculations were taken from the report prepared by the Group’s independent reserve assessment experts.

The discount rate reflects management’s estimate of the Group’s WACC. The WACC takes into account both debt and equity. The cost 
of equity is derived from the expected return on investment by the Group’s investors. The cost of debt is based on its interest-bearing 
borrowings. Segment risk is incorporated by applying a beta factor based on publicly available market data. The post-tax discount rate 
applied to the Group’s post-tax cash flow projections was 8.8%. 

Sensitivity to changes in assumptions
The Group’s value is highly sensitive, inter alia, to oil price achieved and production volumes. The recoverable amount (NPV) of the CGU 
would be equal to the carrying amount of goodwill if either the oil price or production volumes (on a CGU weighted average basis) were 
to fall by 14% from the prices outlined above. Goodwill would need to be fully impaired if the oil price or production volumes (on a CGU 
weighted average basis) were to fall by 17% from the prices outlined above. The above sensitivities have flexed revenues and tax cash flows, 
but operating costs and capital expenditures have been kept constant. In reality, management would be highly likely to take steps to 
mitigate the value impact of further falls in the oil price by cutting supply chain costs. 

12. Intangible oil and gas assets

Cost
At 1 January 2013
Additions
Farm-out
Acquisition of interests in licences
Write-off of relinquished licences previously impaired
Unsuccessful exploration expenditure written off
Change in decommissioning provision
Reclassified from property, plant and equipment (note 10)

At 31 December 2013
Additions
Acquisition of interests in licences
Write-off of relinquished licences previously impaired
Disposals
Unsuccessful exploration expenditure written off
Change in decommissioning provision

At 31 December 2014

Provision for impairment
At 1 January 2013
Impairment charge for the year
Write-off of relinquished licences previously impaired

At 31 December 2013
Impairment charge for the year
Write-off of relinquished licences previously impaired

At 31 December 2014

Net carrying amount:
At 31 December 2014

At 31 December 2013

At 1 January 2013

US$’000

200,692
30,852
(2,648)
6,837
(6,553)
(704)
(155)
448

228,769
67,095
19,800
(8,423)
(143)
(568)
634

307,164

(103,186)
(1,262)
6,553

(97,895)
(151,982)
8,423

(241,454)

65,710

130,874

97,506

Included within the acquisition of the GKA assets are exploration licences and an allocation of the fair value is included in acquisition 
of interests above for the year ended 31 December 2014.

Included within ‘Acquisition of interests in licences’ in 2013 is US$1,310,000 relating to a farm-in to a 50% non-operated interest in 
exploration licence P2006 Block 21/6b (Avalon). Also included is the Group’s 50% interest in the North West October (NWO) block in Egypt, 
acquired from Arabian Oil Company Limited (AOC).

During the year the Group disposed of its Dutch asset P8a for US$2,162,000 resulting in a gain of US$2,019,000.

103

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014 
NOTES TO THE GROUP FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2014

12. Intangible oil and gas assets (continued)
In 2013, an agreement was completed whereby KUFPEC UK Limited (KUFPEC) and Spike Exploration UK Limited (Spike) took 25% and 30% 
working interests respectively in the Cairngorm discovery (blocks 16/2b and 16/3d). KUFPEC and Spike agreed to pay a premium by way of 
a promoted carry on the Cairngorm appraisal well and to pay their equity share of back costs of US$2,648,000 which are disclosed within 
‘Farm-out’ costs. 

During the year ended 31 December 2014, US$8,423,000 of costs relating to relinquished licences previously impaired were written off 
(2013: US$6,553,000).

The impairment charge for the year ended 31 December 2014 includes costs relating to Crawford Porter, Kildrummy, Cairngorm and some 
GKA acreage in the UK. In current market conditions some of those interests do not merit sufficient funds to progress them to economic 
development. In addition, costs relating to the SB307 and SB308 blocks in Malaysia (due to the unsuccessful exploration well) and costs 
incurred since acquisition on the NWO block in Egypt were impaired. The costs relating to the South West Heather licence which is in the 
process of being relinquished have also been impaired. The year ended 31 December 2013 included the impairment charge for the Peik 
licence which was relinquished in 2014.

13. Business combinations
Acquisition of GKA assets 
On 1 March 2014, the Group completed the acquisition of Centrica North Sea Oil Limited (Centrica) 50% share of the UKCS GKA assets as 
well as Centrica’s 100% interest in the Kittiwake to Forties oil export pipeline. Base consideration was US$39,900,000 which was subject to 
certain working capital and other interim period adjustments from the economic date of 1 January 2013, resulting in a cash consideration of 
US$30,322,000. The Group acquired the GKA assets partly due to its proximity to the Scolty/Crathes field and the potential for a tie-back. 
In addition, the Group saw significant potential to improve production through infill drilling.

The fair value was provisional at 30 June 2014 and has been reviewed in accordance with the provisions of IFRS 3 Business Combinations 
(Revised). The initial fair values of assets and liabilities recognised on acquisition have been updated to reflect the finalisation of working 
capital adjustments and decommissioning provisions.

The changes to the fair value of the identifiable assets and liabilities of GKA are as follows:

Assets
Property, plant and equipment 
Intangible assets
Inventory
Receivables
Liabilities
Accruals
Decommissioning provision
Deferred tax liability

Total identifiable net liabilities at fair value
Goodwill arising on acquisition (Note 11)

Purchase consideration transferred

Purchase consideration:
Cash paid and payable
Deferred and contingent consideration

 Revised fair 
values 
US$’000

 Initial fair value 
recognised on 
acquisition 
US$’000

(Decrease)/
increase to 
the fair value 
recognised on 
acquisition
US$’000

55,360
19,800
3,258
20,310

(40,669)
(78,318)
(4,276)

(24,535)
81,557

57,022

55,360
19,800
3,258
–

–
(73,234)
(6,976)

(1,792)
58,814

57,022

–
–
–
20,310

(40,669)
(5,084)
2,700

(22,743)
22,743

–

30,322
26,700

57,022

The goodwill of US$81,557,000 comprises the value of expected synergies arising from the acquisition. None of the goodwill recognised is 
expected to be deductible for income tax purposes.

From the date of acquisition, GKA has contributed US$61,647,000 to revenue and US$9,866,000 to the profit before tax from continuing 
operations of the Group. If the combination had taken place at the beginning of the year, revenue from continuing operations would have 
been US$61,647,000 and the loss before tax from continuing operations for the Group would have been US$3,044,000.

The Group will pay deferred consideration of US$30,000,000 contingent on regulatory approval of a Field Development Plan (FDP) for the 
Scolty field and/or the Crathes field. The fair value of US$18,000,000 has been determined at the date of acquisition using the then best 
estimate of the likelihood of FDP approval.

In addition, contingent consideration up to a maximum of US$100,000,000 may be payable subject to future exploration success. The fair 
value of US$8,700,000 is based on a discounted cash flow method and the best current estimate of the chance of exploration success.

104

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014 
13. Business combinations (continued)
Acquisition of Seligi oil field and PM8 PSC
On 27 June 2014, the Group completed the acquisition of ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Malaysia Inc’s 50% operated interest in the 
Seligi oil field and an 80% participating interest in the PM8 PSC, located offshore Malaysia. The PM8 PSC (extension) was agreed to include the 
Seligi oil field and with effect from 1 July 2014, EnQuest holds a 50% interest in PM8/Seligi. Base consideration was US$67,000,000 subject to 
interim period adjustments since the economic date of 1 January 2014, resulting in a cash consideration payable of US$24,744,000.

The Group acquired the assets to use its extensive experience in creating value from late stage maturing assets in the North Sea to 
enhance recovery from these Malaysian assets.

The fair value was provisional at 30 June 2014 and has been reviewed in accordance with the provisions of IFRS 3 Business Combinations 
(Revised). The initial fair values of assets and liabilities recognised on acquisition have been updated to reflect the finalisation of working 
capital adjustments and decommissioning provisions.

The changes to the fair value of the identifiable assets and liabilities of PM8/Seligi are as follows:

Assets
Property, plant and equipment 
Current tax
Liabilities
Over-lift position
Accrued expenses
Financial liability
Decommissioning provision
Deferred tax liability

Total identifiable net assets at fair value
Negative goodwill

Purchase consideration transferred

 Revised fair 
values 
US$’000

 Initial fair value 
recognised on 
acquisition 
US$’000

150,855
2,759

156,398
–

(6,959)
(3,681)
(5,247)
(55,251)
(29,102)

53,374
(28,630)

24,744

(9,400)
–
(5,700)
(101,265)
(11,821)

28,212
 –

28,212

(Decrease)/
increase to 
the fair value 
recognised on 
acquisition
US$’000

(5,543)
2,759

2,441
(3,681)
453
46,014
(17,281)

25,162
(28,630)

(3,468)

The acquired financial liability relates to an agreement by the Group to carry Petronas Carigali SDN BHD (Carigali) for its share of 
exploration or appraisal well commitments. The fair value of US$5,247,000 has been calculated using a discounted cash flow method.

From the date of acquisition, PM8 has contributed US$53,335,000 to revenue and US$21,844,000 to the profit before tax from continuing 
operations of the Group. If the combination had taken place at the beginning of the year, revenue from continuing operations would have 
been US$155,319,000 and the profit before tax from continuing operations for the Group would have been US$91,449,000.

The negative goodwill has been recognised in the income statement in the year ended 31 December 2014. The transaction resulted in a 
gain as EnQuest has the capability to utilise its skills to enhance value of mature assets such as PM8. Therefore, we believe the fair value of 
the assets is greater than the consideration.

14. Investments

Cost
At 1 January 2013, 31 December 2013 and 31 December 2014

Provision for impairment
At 1 January 2013
Impairment charge for the year
Reversal of impairment loss

At 31 December 2013
Impairment charge for the year1

At 31 December 2014

Net carrying amount:
At 31 December 2014

At 31 December 2013

At 1 January 2013

1.  US$1,316,000 has been recognised in the income statement and US$398,000 reversing the available-for-sale reserve.

US$’000

19,231

(16,914)
(312)
398

(16,828)
(1,714)

(18,542)

689

2,403

2,317

105

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014NOTES TO THE GROUP FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2014

14. Investments (continued)
The investment relates to 160,903,958 new ordinary shares in Ascent acquired in 2011. The accounting valuation of the Group’s 
shareholding (based on the quoted share price of Ascent) resulted in an additional non-cash impairment of US$1,714,000 in the year 
to 31 December 2014. 

In the prior year, the accounting valuation for the period ended 30 June 2013 resulted in a non-cash impairment of US$312,000 
and by 31 December 2013 the share price had increased, resulting in a reversal of the impairment, which was recognised in the 
available-for-sale reserve.

15. Inventories

Crude oil
Well supplies

16. Trade and other receivables

Trade receivables
Joint venture receivables
Under-lift position
VAT receivable
Other receivables

Prepayments and accrued income

2014
US$’000

11,695
77,702

89,397

2014
US$’000

53,812
61,000
15,010
20,818
18,716

169,356
116,871

286,227

2013
US$’000

16,273
30,541

46,814

2013
US$’000

93,252
116,341
17,248
16,751
15,055

258,647
8,533

267,180

Trade receivables are non-interest bearing and are generally on 15 to 30 day terms.

Trade receivables are reported net of any provisions for impairment. As at 31 December 2014 no impairment provision for trade receivables 
was necessary (2013: nil). 

Joint venture receivables relate to billings to joint venture partners and were not impaired. 

Under-lift is valued at net realisable value being the lower of cost and net realisable value.

As at 31 December 2014 and 31 December 2013 no other receivables were determined to be impaired.

The carrying value of the Group’s trade, joint venture and other receivables as stated above is considered to be a reasonable approximation 
to their fair value largely due to their short term maturities.

17. Cash and cash equivalents
The carrying value of the Group’s cash and cash equivalents is considered to be a reasonable approximation to their fair value due to their 
short term maturities. Included within the cash balance at 31 December 2014 is restricted cash of US$27,183,000 (2013: nil). US$22,324,000 
of this relates to cash held in escrow in respect of the unwound acquisition of the Tunisian assets of PA Resources and the remainder relates 
to cash collateral held to issue bank guarantees in Malaysia.

18. Share capital
The share capital of the Company as at 31 December was as follows:

Authorised, issued and fully paid 802,660,757 (2013: 802,660,757) Ordinary shares of £0.05 each 
Share premium

2014
US$’000

61,249
52,184

2013
US$’000

61,249
52,184

113,433

113,433

The share capital comprises only one class of Ordinary share. Each Ordinary share carries an equal voting right and right to a dividend.

There were no new issues of shares during 2014 or 2013.

At 31 December 2014 there were 29,691,691 shares held by the Employee Benefit Trust (2013: 25,510,520), the increase is due to the 
purchase of shares to satisfy awards made under the Company’s share-based incentive schemes net of shares used during the year.

106

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 201419. Share-based payment plans
On 18 March 2010, the Directors of the Company approved three share schemes for the benefit of Directors and employees, being a 
Deferred Bonus Share Plan, a Restricted Share Plan and a Performance Share Plan. A Sharesave Plan was approved in 2012. The grant 
values for all schemes are based on the average share price from the three days preceding the date of grant.

Deferred Bonus Share Plan (DBSP)
Selected employees are eligible to participate under this scheme. Participants may be invited to elect or, in some cases, be required, to 
receive a proportion of any bonus in Ordinary shares of EnQuest (invested awards). Following such award, EnQuest will generally grant the 
participant an additional award over a number of shares bearing a specified ratio to the number of his or her invested shares (matching 
shares). The awards granted will vest 33% on the first anniversary of the date of grant, a further 33% after year two and the final 34% on the 
third anniversary of the date of grant. The invested awards are fully recognised as an expense in the period to which the bonuses relate. 
The costs relating to the matching shares are recognised over the vesting period and the fair values of the equity-settled matching shares 
granted to employees are based on quoted market prices adjusted for the trued up percentage vesting rate of the plan.

Details of the fair values and assumed vesting rates of the DBSP scheme are shown below:

2014 awards
2013 awards
2012 awards

The following shows the movement in the number of share awards held under the DBSP scheme outstanding:

Outstanding at 1 January
Granted during the year
Exercised during the year
Forfeited during the year

Outstanding at 31 December 

1. 

Includes invested and matching shares.

Weighted 
average fair 
value per share

Trued up vesting 
rate

127p
127p
124p

91%
96%
94%

2014 
Number1

2013 
Number1

1,484,001
1,021,538
(741,856)
(162,048)

1,018,357
848,922
(359,077)
(24,201)

1,601,635

1,484,001

There were no share awards exercisable at either 31 December 2014 or 2013.

The weighted average contractual life for the share awards outstanding as at 31 December 2014 was 0.9 years (2013: 1.0 years).
The charge recognised in the 2014 statement of comprehensive income in relation to matching share awards amounted to US$2,095,000 
(2013: US$1,058,000).

Restricted Share Plan (RSP)
Under the Restricted Share Plan scheme, employees are granted shares in EnQuest over a discretionary vesting period at the direction 
of the Remuneration Committee of the Board of Directors of EnQuest, which may or may not be subject to the satisfaction of performance 
conditions. Awards made under the RSP will vest over periods between one and four years. At present there are no performance conditions 
applying to this scheme nor is there currently any intention to introduce them in the future. The fair value of the awards granted under the 
plan at various grant dates during the year are based on quoted market prices adjusted for an assumed vesting rate over the relevant 
vesting period. 

Details of the fair values and assumed vesting rate of the RSP scheme are shown below:

2014 awards
2013 awards
2012 awards
2011 awards

Weighted 
average fair 
value per share

Trued up
 vesting rate

125p
127p
123p
119p

100%
84%
70%
91%

107

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014NOTES TO THE GROUP FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2014

19. Share-based payment plans (continued)
The following table shows the movement in the number of share awards held under the RSP scheme outstanding:

Outstanding at 1 January
Granted during the year
Exercised during the year
Forfeited during the year

Outstanding at 31 December

Exercisable at 31 December

2014 
Number

2013 
Number

8,379,718
288,862
(2,703,374)
(637,866)

8,158,207
1,567,800
(1,055,827)
(290,462)

5,327,340

8,379,718

3,058,629

2,191,424

The weighted average contractual life for the share awards outstanding as at 31 December 2014 was 1.3 years (2013: 1.0 years).

The charge recognised in the year ended 31 December 2014 amounted to US$1,637,000 (2013: US$3,007,000). 

Performance Share Plan (PSP)
Under the Performance Share Plan, the shares vest subject to performance conditions. The PSP share awards granted had three sets of 
performance conditions associated with them. One third of the award relates to Total Shareholder Return (TSR) against a comparator group 
of 36 oil and gas companies listed on the FTSE 350, AIM Top 100 and Stockholm NASDAQ OMX; one third relates to production growth per 
share; and one third relates to reserves growth per share, over the three year performance period. Awards will vest on the third anniversary.

The fair value of the awards granted under the plan at various grant dates during the year are based on quoted market prices adjusted for 
an assumed vesting rate over the relevant vesting period. 

Details of the fair values and assumed vesting rate of the PSP scheme are shown below:

2014 awards
2013 awards
2012 awards

Weighted 
average fair 
value per share

Trued up vesting 
rate

127p
127p
124p

93%
87%
83%

The following table shows the movement in the number of share awards held under the PSP scheme outstanding:

Outstanding at 1 January
Granted during the year
Exercised during the year
Forfeited during the year

Outstanding at 31 December

Exercisable at 31 December

2014 
Number

2013 
Number

8,299,026
4,905,547
(480,636)
(1,780,533)

4,602,639
3,936,000
–
(239,613)

10,943,404

8,299,026

457,963

–

The weighted average contractual life for the share awards outstanding as at 31 December 2014 was 1.6 years (2013: 1.5 years).

The charge recognised in the year ended 31 December 2014 amounted to US$4,711,000 (2013: US$4,066,000). 

Sharesave plan
The Group operates an approved savings related share option scheme. The plan is based on eligible employees being granted options and 
their agreement to opening a sharesave account with a nominated savings carrier and to save over a specified period, either three or five 
years. The right to exercise the option is at the employee’s discretion at the end of the period previously chosen, for a period of six months.

Details of the fair values and assumed vesting rates of the Sharesave Plan are shown below:

2014 awards
2013 awards
2012 awards

108

Weighted 
average fair 
value per share

Trued up vesting 
rate

38.7p
20p
20p

71%
55%
46%

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 201419. Share-based payment plans (continued)
The following shows the movement in the number of share options held under the Sharesave Plan outstanding:

Outstanding at 1 January
Granted during the year
Exercised during the year
Forfeited during the year

Outstanding at 31 December 

2014 
Number

1,086,120
1,017,570
(13,000)
 (774,935)

2013 
Number

697,380
464,460
 – 
(75,720)

1,315,755

1,086,120

There were no share options exercisable at either 31 December 2014 or 2013.

The weighted average contractual life for the share options outstanding as at 31 December 2014 was 2.6 years (2013: 2.5 years).

The charge recognised in the 2014 statement of comprehensive income amounted to US$25,000 (2013: US$62,000).

The Group has recognised a total charge of US$8,468,000 (2013: US$8,193,000) in the statement of comprehensive income during the year, 
relating to the above employee share-based schemes. 

20. Loans and borrowings
Revolving credit facility
At 31 December 2014, the Group had a six year US$1,700,000,000 multi-currency revolving credit facility, comprising of a committed 
amount of US$1,200,000,000 with a further US$500,000,000 available through an accordion structure.

Interest on the revolving credit facility is payable at LIBOR plus a margin of 2.50% to 3.75%, dependent on specified covenant ratios. 

At 31 December 2014, US$217,649,000 was drawn down under the Group’s facility agreement (2013: US$225,809,000) and LoC utilisation 
was US$149,395,000 (2013: US$181,543,000). Unamortised facility fees of US$24,168,000 have been netted off against the drawdowns in the 
balance sheet (2013: US$26,413,000).

Property loan facility 
During the year the Group entered a £31,800,000 two year development facility with Abbey National Treasury Services PLC in relation 
to the construction of the Group’s Aberdeen office building. The facility terminates on 28 March 2016. 

Interest of LIBOR plus a margin of 1.5% is payable. At 31 December 2014, £21,934,000 (US$34,199,000) was drawn down under the 
development facility. Unamortised facility fees of US$645,000 have been netted off against the drawdowns in the balance sheet.

The Group considers there to be no material difference between the fair values of the interest bearing loans and borrowings and the 
carrying amounts in the balance sheet.

Bonds
In April 2014, the Group issued a US$650,000,000 high yield bond which matures in 2022 and pays a coupon of 7% payable bi-annually 
in April and October. The bond is carried at its amortised cost of US$651,077,000 (2013: nil). 

At 31 December 2014, the Group also had a 5.5% Sterling Retail Bond of £155,245,000. The original bond raised £145,000,000 with 
an additional £10,245,000 issued in November 2013. The bond pays a coupon of 5.5% payable bi-annually in February and August and 
matures in 2022. The bond had a fair value of US$169,010,000 (2013: US$263,498,000) but is carried at its amortised cost of US$244,173,000 
(2013: US$258,791,000). The fair value of the Sterling Retail Bond has been determined by reference to the price available from the market 
on which the bond is traded.

109

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014NOTES TO THE GROUP FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2014

21. Other financial assets and financial liabilities

Financial instruments at fair value through other comprehensive income
Current assets
Cash flow hedges:
Commodity contracts

Financial instruments at fair value through profit or loss
Current assets
Derivatives not designated as hedges:
Commodity contracts
Forward foreign currency contracts

Non-current assets
Derivatives not designated as hedges:
Forward foreign currency contracts

Current liabilities
Derivatives not designated as hedges:
Commodity contracts
Forward foreign currency contracts

Non-current liabilities
Derivatives not designated as hedges:
Commodity contracts

Loans and receivables
Current assets
Other receivable

Non-current assets
Other receivable

Other financial liabilities at amortised cost
Current liabilities
Other liability

Non-current liabilities
Other liability

Total current assets
Total non-current assets

Total assets

Total current liabilities
Total non-current liabilities

Total liabilities

2014
US$’000

2013
US$’000

87,299

–

7,930
2,409

10,339

–
8,455

8,455

–

702

22,445
12,805

35,250

5,084
631

5,715

18,041

839

3,294

–

18,809

21,226

66,228

164,176

5,653

100,932
18,809

119,741

101,478
23,694

125,172

–

8,455
21,928

30,383

169,891
839

170,730

Commodity contracts
During the year ended 31 December 2014, the Group entered into various put option contracts in order to hedge the exposure to changes in 
future cash flows from the sale of oil production in 2015. Put options over approximately 8,000,000 barrels of oil in 2015 were purchased with 
an average strike price of US$87 per barrel. These options were subsequently closed in December 2014. A gain on the intrinsic value of the 
options (the portion designated into the hedging relationship) of US$119,055,000 was deferred in equity and will be recognised in revenue 
during 2015. The realised loss on the time value portion of US$38,815,000 was recognised in finance costs. Put options over a further 
10,000,000 barrels maturing in 2015 were purchased, and remain open at year end. These options have an average strike price of US$65 per 
barrel, and were deemed effective for hedge accounting purposes. Intrinsic value gains of US$37,226,000 have been deferred in equity and 
will be recognised in revenue during 2015. The increase of US$16,200,000 in the time value portion above the premium paid for the options 
has been recognised in finance costs. The fair value of these open puts at 31 December 2014 was US$87,299,000. 

The Group also sold call options during 2014. At 31 December 2014 call options over 17,744,000 notional barrels had been sold, of 
which 10,246,150 maturing in 2015 with an average strike price of US$93.94 per barrel, and 7,498,199 maturing in 2016 with an average 
strike price of US$99.36 per barrel. These call options are designated as ‘At fair value through profit and loss’ (FVTPL). These contracts had 
a net liability fair value of US$36,227,000 at 31 December 2014, representing a gain over the premium received of US$16,653,000. This gain 
has been recognised in revenue. 

110

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 201421. Other financial assets and financial liabilities (continued)
In August and September 2013, the Group entered into five options in order to hedge the exposure to changes in future cash flows from 
the sale of oil production for approximately 3,600,000 barrels of oil in 2014. These instruments were deemed to be ineffective for hedge 
accounting purposes and were designated as at FVTPL. These contracts matured during 2014 and had a nil fair value (2013: 
US$5,084,000 (loss)). 

During the year, the Group also entered a series of commodity swaps. These contracts had a net fair value of US$3,670,000.

Forward foreign currency contracts
During the year ended 31 December 2013, the Group entered into various forward currency contracts, namely Sterling, Euro and 
Norwegian Krone which were due to expire in 2014 and 2015. These contracts did not qualify for hedge accounting. Of those outstanding 
at 31 December 2014, the net fair value was US$10,396,000 liability (2013: US$7,688,000 asset). 

Foreign exchange swap contracts
During 2014, the Group entered several foreign exchange swap contracts when Sterling was trading above $1.66:£1. The swap contracts were 
closed early in October 2014 realising a gain of US$46,756,000 which has been recognised in the income statement within cost of sales. 

The income statement impact of all commodity and currency derivatives are as follows:

Revenue

Cost of sales

Finance income/(expenses)

Year ended 31 December 2014

Call options
Put options
Commodity swaps
Foreign exchange swap contracts
Other forward currency contracts
Prior year commodity contracts

Year ended 31 December 2013

Commodity contracts
Forward currency contracts

Realised
US$’000

Unrealised
US$’000

8,785
920
(11,522)
–
–
33,566

9,857
–
3,670
–
–
5,084

31,749

18,611

Realised
US$’000

–
–
–
46,756
8,517
–

55,273

Unrealised
US$’000

–
–
–
–
(18,085)
–

Realised
US$’000

Unrealised
US$’000

–
(41,353)
–
–
–
–

–
18,697
–
–
–
–

18,697

(18,085)

(41,353)

Revenue

Cost of sales

Finance income/(expenses)

Realised
US$’000

Unrealised
US$’000

–
–

–

(5,954)
–

(5,954)

Realised
US$’000

–
7,339

7,339

Unrealised
US$’000

Realised
US$’000

Unrealised
US$’000

–
7,687

7,687

–
–

–

–
–

–

Other receivable
As part of the 2012 farm-out to KUFPEC of 35% of the Alma/Galia development, KUFPEC agreed to pay EnQuest a total of US$23,292,000 
after production commences over a period of 36 months, the fair value of which was US$19,300,000. Receivables were recognised at 
31 December 2012. The unwinding of discount of US$877,000 is included within finance income for the year ended 31 December 2014 
(2013: US$1,447,000).

Other liability
The consideration for the acquisition of 40% of the Kraken field from Nautical and First Oil in 2012 was through development carries. 
These were split into a ‘firm’ carry and a ‘contingent’ carry dependent upon reserves determination. A financial liability is recognised at 
31 December 2014 for the remainder of the ‘firm’ carry amounting to US$66,502,000 (2013: US$164,176,000). This is expected to expire 
early in 2015. The ‘contingent’ carry has been accounted for as a provision (note 23).

On Kraken FDP approval, commitments of US$11,200,000 due in respect of back-in payments associated with the sole risk drilling 
undertaken by the previous operator were due to be paid. These have now been added to the carry arrangement.

As part of the agreement to acquire the PM8 assets in Malaysia, the Group agreed to carry Petronas Carigali for its share of exploration or 
appraisal well commitments. The discounted value of US$5,379,000 has been disclosed as a financial liability (2013: nil). The unwinding of 
discount of US$132,000 is included within finance expense for the year ended 31 December 2014 (2013: nil).

At 1 January 2013
Additions during the year
Utilised during the year
Unwinding of discount

At 31 December 2013
Additions during the year
Utilised during the year
Unwinding of discount

At 31 December 2014

Other liability
US$’000

Other receivable
US$’000

 17,150
 240,000
 (92,974)
–

164,176
5,247
(97,674)
132

 115,081
 –
 (95,302)
1,447

21,226
–
–
877

71,881

22,103

111

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014–
–

–

22,103

–

–

 12,805
40,486

 –
 –

–

 71,881

227,035
36
169,010
651,077

 –
 –
 –
 –

–

–
 –

–

–
–
–
–

NOTES TO THE GROUP FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2014

22. Fair value measurement
The following table provides the fair value measurement hierarchy of the Group’s assets and liabilities:

Date of 
valuation

Total 
US$’000

Quoted prices in 
active markets 
(Level 1) 
US$’000

Significant 
observable 
inputs (Level 2) 
US$’000

Significant 
unobservable 
inputs (Level 3) 
US$’000

Assets measured at fair value:
Derivative financial assets
Commodity contracts
Forward foreign currency contracts 
Other financial assets
Available-for-sale financial investments
Quoted equity shares 
Loans and receivables
Other receivable

31 December 2014
31 December 2014

95,229
2,409

–
–

95,229
2,409

 31 December 2014

689

689

31 December 2014

22,103

Liabilities measured at fair value:
Derivative financial liabilities
Forward foreign currency contracts 
Commodity contracts
Other liability
Other liability
Liabilities for which fair values are disclosed (notes 20 and 25)
Interest bearing loans and borrowings
Obligations under finance leases
Sterling retail bond
High yield bond

31 December 2014
31 December 2014

12,805
40,486

31 December 2014

71,881

31 December 2014
31 December 2014
31 December 2014
31 December 2014

227,035
36
169,010
651,077

There have been no transfers between Level 1 and Level 2 during the period.

The forward foreign currency and the commodity forward contracts were valued externally by the respective banks and have been 
reviewed internally.

Decommissioning 
provision
US$’000

Carry provision
US$’000

Contingent 
Consideration
US$’000

232,952
 3,941
 27,341
(48,711)
12,588
315

228,426
7,622
133,569
75,135
12,093
(7,177)

 –
 80,000
 –
–
–
–

80,000
–
–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–
–
–

–
–
26,700
–
–
–

Total
US$’000

232,952
 83,941
 27,341
(48,711)
12,588
315

308,426
7,622
160,269
75,135
12,093
(7,177)

449,668

80,000

26,700

556,368

23. Provisions

At 1 January 2013
Additions during the year
Acquisition
Changes in estimates
Unwinding of discount
Utilisation

At 31 December 2013
Additions during the year
Acquisition
Changes in estimates
Unwinding of discount
Utilisation

At 31 December 2014

112

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 201423. Provisions (continued)
Provision for decommissioning
The Group makes full provision for the future costs of decommissioning its oil production facilities and pipelines on a discounted basis. 
With respect to the Heather field, the decommissioning provision is based on the Group’s contractual obligation of 37.5% of the 
decommissioning liability rather than the Group’s equity interest in the field.

The provision represents the present value of decommissioning costs which are expected to be incurred up to 2032 assuming no further 
development of the Group’s assets. The liability is discounted at a rate of 3.0% (2013: 5.0%). The unwinding of the discount is classified as a 
finance cost (note 6).

These provisions have been created based on internal and third party estimates. Assumptions based on the current economic environment 
have been made which management believe are a reasonable basis upon which to estimate the future liability. These estimates are 
reviewed regularly to take into account any material changes to the assumptions. However, actual decommissioning costs will ultimately 
depend upon future market prices for the necessary decommissioning works required which will reflect market conditions at the relevant 
time. Furthermore, the timing of decommissioning liabilities is likely to depend on the dates when the fields cease to be economically 
viable. This in turn depends on future oil prices which are inherently uncertain.

Carry provision
Consideration for the acquisition of 40% of the Kraken field from Nautical and First Oil in 2012 was through development carries. 
A provision has been recognised for the ‘contingent’ carry which is dependent on a reserves determination. The reserves determination 
would be triggered by the carried parties, based on drilling work, or if later the date on which the ‘firm’ carry expires. The ‘contingent’ carry 
is pro-rated between 100 and 166 million barrels of proven and probable reserves. The FDP which was approved in November 2013 stated 
137 million barrels and this would give rise to a carry of approximately US$80,000,000. The carry is estimated to be paid 12 months after 
the ‘firm’ carry has expired in early 2015.

Contingent consideration
As part of the purchase agreement with the previous owner of the GKA assets, a contingent consideration has been agreed (refer to note 13).

24. Trade and other payables

Trade payables
Accrued expenses
Over-lift position
Other payables

2014
US$’000

189,257
220,723
13,108
5,982

429,070

2013
US$’000

131,526
231,295
–
489

363,310

Trade payables are non-interest bearing and are normally settled on terms of between 10 and 30 days. Certain trade and other payables 
will be settled in currencies other than the reporting currency of the Group, mainly in Sterling.

Accrued expenses include accruals for capital and operating expenditure in relation to the oil and gas assets.

The carrying value of the Group’s trade and other payables as stated above is considered to be a reasonable approximation to their fair 
value largely due to the short term maturities.

25. Commitments and contingencies
Commitments
(i) Operating lease commitments
The Group has financial commitments in respect of non-cancellable operating leases for office premises. These leases have remaining 
non-cancellable lease terms of between one and nine years. The future minimum rental commitments under these non-cancellable leases 
are as follows:

Not later than one year
After one year but not more than five years
Over five years

2014
US$’000

2,031
3,733
1,335

7,099

2013
US$’000

2,703
3,267
2,235

8,205

Lease payments recognised as an operating lease expense during the year amounted to US$3,086,000 (2013: US$2,676,000). 

Under the Dons Northern Producer Agreement a minimum notice period of 12 months exists whereby the Group expects the minimum 
commitment under this agreement to be approximately US$13,976,000 (2013: US$24,363,000).

(ii) Finance lease commitments
The Group had the following obligations under finance leases as at the balance sheet date:

113

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014NOTES TO THE GROUP FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2014

25. Commitments and contingencies (continued)

Due in less than one year
Due in more than one year but not more than five years

Less future financing charges

2014 Minimum 
payments
 US$’000 

2014 Present 
value of 
payments
 US$’000

2013 Minimum 
payments
 US$’000 

2013 Present 
value of 
payments
 US$’000

37
37

74
(2)

72

36
36

72
–

72

36
74

110
(3)

107

35
72

107
–

107

The leases are fixed rate leases with an effective borrowing rate of 2.37% (2013: 2.37%) and have an average remaining life of one year 
(2013: two years).

On 20 December 2013, the Group entered into a bareboat charter with Armada Kraken PTE Limited (Armada) for the lease of an FPSO 
vessel for the Kraken field. The lease will commence on the date of first production which is currently targeted to come onstream by 2017. 
Armada will construct the vessel and the Group incurred an initial payment of US$100,000,000 which was paid during 2014.

(iii) Capital commitments
At 31 December 2014, the Group had capital commitments excluding the above lease commitments amounting to US$788,259,000 (2013: 
US$447,293,000).

Contingencies
As part of the KUFPEC farm-in agreement, a reserves protection mechanism was agreed with KUFPEC to enable KUFPEC to recoup its 
investment to the date of first production. If on 1 January 2017, KUFPEC’s costs to first production have not been recovered or deemed to 
have been recovered, EnQuest will pay to KUFPEC an additional 20% share of net revenue (giving them 55% in total). This additional 
revenue is to be paid from January 2017 until the costs to first production have been recovered.

In addition, there is contingent consideration of US$20,000,000 after the acquisition of EQ Petroleum Sabah Limited (previously Nio 
Petroleum (Sabah) Limited) which will be determined based on proven and probable reserves associated with an approved FDP on Blocks 
SB307 and SB308 in Malaysia. The exploration/appraisal well drilled in the area in 2014 was unsuccessful.

There is also deferred consideration of US$3,000,000 dependent on FDP approval in relation to the 20% interest in Kildrummy acquired 
from ENI UK Limited during the year ended 31 December 2012, the costs of this well were impaired in 2014.

In the ordinary course of business there is a risk of disputes with partners, suppliers or customers relating to matters such as cost overruns, 
service provision or contractual terms. Should disputes emerge and become subject to formal legal proceedings the Group could face 
liabilities in the event of adverse determinations. As at the date of this report there are no material court or arbitration proceedings 
affecting the Group.

26. Related party transactions
The Group financial statements include the financial statements of EnQuest PLC and its subsidiaries. A list of the Group’s principal 
subsidiaries is contained in note 29 to these Group financial statements.

Balances and transactions between the Company and its subsidiaries, which are related parties, have been eliminated on consolidation and 
are not disclosed in this note. 

All sales to and purchases from related parties are made at normal market prices and the pricing policies and terms of these transactions 
are approved by the Group’s management. There have been no transactions with related parties who are not members of the Group during 
the year ended 31 December 2014 (2013: nil).

Compensation of key management personnel 
The following table details remuneration of key management personnel of the Group comprising Executive and Non-Executive Directors 
of the Company and other senior personnel:

Short term employee benefits
Share-based payments
Post employment pension benefits

114

2014
US$’000

4,789
3,375
42

8,206

2013
US$’000

3,775
4,314
31

8,120

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 201427. Risk management and financial instruments
Risk management objectives and policies
The Group’s principal financial assets and liabilities comprise trade and other receivables, cash and short term deposits, interest-bearing 
loans, borrowings and finance leases, derivative financial instruments and trade and other payables. The main purpose of these financial 
instruments is to manage short term cash flow and raise finance for the Group’s capital expenditure programme.

The Group’s activities expose it to various financial risks particularly associated with fluctuations in oil price, foreign currency risk, 
liquidity risk and credit risk. Management reviews and agrees policies for managing each of these risks, which are summarised below. Also 
presented below is a sensitivity analysis to indicate sensitivity to changes in market variables on the Group’s financial instruments and to 
show the impact on profit and shareholders’ equity, where applicable. The sensitivity has been prepared for periods ended 31 December 
2014 and 2013 using the amounts of debt and other financial assets and liabilities held at those reporting dates.

Commodity price risk – oil prices
The Group is exposed to the impact of changes in Brent oil prices on its revenues and profits generated from sales of crude oil. 

The Group’s policy is to have the ability to hedge oil prices up to a maximum of 75% of the next 12 months production on a rolling annual 
basis, up to 60% in the following 12 month period and 50% in the subsequent 12 month period.

Details of the commodity derivative contracts entered into during, and on hand at the end of 2014, are disclosed in note 21.

The following table summarises the impact on the Group’s pre-tax profit and total equity of a reasonably possible change in the Brent oil 
price, on the fair value of derivative financial instruments, with all other variables held constant:

31 December 2014
31 December 2013

Pre-tax profit

Total equity

+US$10/Bbl 
increase
US$’000

–
(76,379)

-US$10/Bbl 
decrease
US$’000

–
52,541

+US$10/Bbl 
increase
US$’000

(14,495)
(29,024)

-US$10/Bbl 
decrease
US$’000

37,910
19,966

Foreign currency risk
The Group has transactional currency exposures. Such exposure arises from sales or purchases in currencies other than the Group’s 
functional currency and the bond which is denominated in Sterling. To mitigate the risks of large fluctuations in the currency markets, the 
hedging policy agreed by the Board allows for up to 70% of non-US Dollar portion of the Group’s annual capital budget and operating 
expenditure to be hedged. For specific contracted capital expenditure projects, up to 100% can be hedged. Approximately 1% (2013: 1%) 
of the Group’s sales and 91% (2013: 91%) of costs are denominated in currencies other than the functional currency.

During the first half of 2013, the Group entered into a series of forward contracts and structured products to hedge a portion of its Sterling, 
Euro and Norwegian Krone exposure throughout 2013 and 2014. In 2014, a total of £182,000,000 of Sterling exposure was hedged using 
this structured product with an average strike price of US$1.46:£1. If the spot rate at expiry of the contracts was above US$1.64:£1 then 
there was no trade and the Group funded its Sterling requirement through the spot market or drew Sterling on the bank facility. Between 
US$1.64:£1 and US$1.33:£1, EnQuest traded at the lower of US$1.46:£1 and the spot rate and below US$1.33:£1, EnQuest traded a higher 
volume of currency at US$1.46:£1. 

The same structure was also used to hedge the Group’s Norwegian Krone (NOK) exposure arising as part of the Kraken development 
project. In 2014, a total of NOK367,000,000 has been hedged.

During 2014, EnQuest entered several foreign exchange swap contracts when Sterling was trading above $1.66:£1. The realised impact of 
US$46,756,000 has been recognised in the income statement within cost of sales.

The following table summarises the sensitivity to a reasonably possible change in the United States Dollar to Sterling foreign exchange rate, 
with all other variables held constant, of the Group’s profit before tax due to changes in the carrying value of monetary assets and liabilities 
at the reporting date. The impact in equity is the same as the impact on profit before tax. The Group’s exposure to foreign currency 
changes for all other currencies is not material:

Change in United States Dollar rate

+10%
-10%

Pre-tax profit

Year ended 
31 December 
2014 
US$’000

Year ended 
31 December 
2013
US$’000

(75,962)
75,962

(68,931)
68,931

115

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014NOTES TO THE GROUP FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2014

27. Risk management and financial instruments (continued)
Credit risk
The Group trades only with recognised international oil and gas operators and at 31 December 2014 there were no trade receivables past 
due (2013: nil), US$490,000 of joint venture receivables past due (2013: US$1,981,000) and US$1,955,000 (2013: nil) of other receivables past 
due but not impaired. Receivable balances are monitored on an ongoing basis with appropriate follow-up action taken where necessary. 

Ageing of past due but not impaired receivables

Less than 30 days
30–60 days
60–90 days
90–120 days
120+ days

2014
US$’000

183
–
5
2
2,255

2,445

2013
US$’000

4
–
–
–
1,977

1,981

At 31 December 2014, the Group had three customers accounting for 89% of outstanding trade and other receivables (2013: two 
customers, 72%) and three joint venture partners accounting for 95% of joint venture receivables (2013: three joint venture partners, 99%). 

With respect to credit risk arising from the other financial assets of the Group, which comprise cash and cash equivalents, the Group’s 
exposure to credit risk arises from default of the counterparty, with a maximum exposure equal to the carrying amount of these instruments.

Cash balances can be invested in short term bank deposits and AAA-rated liquidity funds, subject to Board approved limits and with a view 
to minimising counterparty credit risks.

Liquidity risk
The Group monitors its risk to a shortage of funds by reviewing its cash flow requirements on a regular basis relative to its existing bank 
facilities and the maturity profile of these facilities. Specifically the Group’s policy is to ensure that sufficient liquidity or committed facilities 
exist within the Group to meet its operational funding requirements and to ensure the Group can service its debt and adhere to its financial 
covenants. During 2014, the Group performed within the financial ratios applicable (and forecast for) that period as allowed for by its revolving 
credit facility. In light of recent low oil prices and in order to provide flexibility for EnQuest’s capital investment programme, the revolving 
credit facility lending banks have agreed to relax existing credit facility covenants subsequent to the year end. The net debt/ EBITDA covenant 
has been increased to five times and the ratio of financial charges to EBITDA is reduced to three times, both until mid-2017. 

At 31 December 2014, the Group held a six year US$1,700,000,000 multi-currency revolving credit facility, comprising of a committed 
amount of US$1,200,000,000 with a further US$500,000,000 available through an accordion structure.

The maturity profiles of the Group’s non-derivative financial liabilities including projected interest thereon are as follows: 

On demand
US$’000

Up to 1 year
US$’000

1 to 2 years
US$’000

2 to 5 years
US$’000 

Over 5 years
US$’000 

Total
US$’000

–
–
–
429,070
–
–

27,100
58,813
37
–
66,228
–

65,959
58,813
37
–
5,653
80,000

52,210
176,439
–
–
–
–

217,649
1,017,266
–
–
–
–

362,918
1,311,331
74
429,070
71,881
80,000

429,070

152,178

210,462

228,649

1,234,915

2,255,274

On demand
US$’000

Up to 1 year
US$’000

1 to 2 years
US$’000

2 to 5 years
US$’000 

Over 5 years
US$’000 

–
–
–
363,310
–
–

363,310

26,100
14,140
35
–
164,176
–

204,451

21,580
14,140
36
–
–
80,000

115,756

38,310
42,418
36
–
–
–

80,764

255,809
299,502
–
–
–
–

Total
US$’000

341,799
370,200
107
363,310
164,176
80,000

555,311

1,319,592

Year ended 31 December 2014

Loans and borrowings
Bond
Obligations under finance leases
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities
Other liability
Carry provision

Year ended 31 December 2013

Loans and borrowings
Bond
Obligations under finance leases
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities
Other liability
Carry provision

116

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 201427. Risk management and financial instruments (continued)
The following tables detail the Group’s expected maturity of payables/(receivables) for its derivative financial instruments. The amounts in 
these tables are different from the balance sheet as the table is prepared on a contractual undiscounted cash flow basis. 

Year ended 31 December 2014

Commodity derivative contracts
Commodity derivative contracts
Foreign exchange forward contracts
Foreign exchange forward contracts

Year ended 31 December 2013

Foreign exchange forward contracts
Foreign exchange forward contracts

3 to 12 months 
US$’000

 1 to 2 years 
US$’000

 >2 years
US$’000

On demand 
US$’000

–
–
–
–

–

Less than 
3 months 
US$’000

24,374
–
78,313
(78,893)

 24,052
 (6,130)
 48,514
(56,296)

23,794

10,140

–
–
–
–

 –

–
–
–
–

–

On demand 
US$’000

–
–

–

Less than 
3 months 
US$’000

16,126
(16,126)

–

3 to 12 months 
US$’000

 1 to 2 years 
US$’000

 >2 years 
US$’000

 43,440 
(43,440)

–

45,475
(45,475)

 –

–
–

–

Total 
US$’000

48,426
(6,130)
126,827
(135,189)

33,934

Total 
US$’000

105,041
(105,041)

–

At 31 December 2013, the Group held commodity forward contracts for which, based on the oil price at 31 December 2013, there were no 
projected contracted cash flows.

Capital management
The capital structure of the Group consists of debt, which includes the borrowings disclosed in note 20, cash and cash equivalents and 
equity attributable to the equity holders of the parent, comprising issued capital, reserves and retained earnings as in the Group Statement 
of Changes in Equity on page 85.

The primary objective of the Group’s capital management is to optimise the return on investment, by managing its capital structure to 
achieve capital efficiency whilst also maintaining flexibility for future acquisitions. The Group regularly monitors the capital requirements of 
the business over the short, medium and long term, in order to enable it to foresee when additional capital will be required. Note 20 to the 
financial statements provides further details of the Group’s financing activity.

The Group has approval from the Board to hedge the exchange risk on up to 70% of the non US Dollar portion of the Group’s annual capital 
budget and operating expenditure. For specific contracted capex projects, up to 100% can be hedged. In addition, there is approval from 
the Board to hedge up to 75% of annual production in year 1, 60% in year 2 and 50% in year 3. This is designed to minimise the risk of 
adverse movements in exchange rates and prices eroding the return on the Group’s projects and operations.

The Board regularly reassesses the existing dividend policy to ensure that shareholder value is maximised. Any future payment of dividends 
is expected to depend on the earnings and financial condition of the Company and such other factors as the Board considers appropriate.

The Group monitors capital using the gearing ratio and return on shareholders’ equity as follows:

Loans, borrowings and bond net (A)
Cash and short term deposits 

Net debt/(cash) (B)

Equity attributable to EnQuest PLC shareholders (C)
Profit for the year attributable to EnQuest PLC shareholders (D)
Profit for the year attributable to EnQuest PLC shareholders excluding exceptionals (E)
Gross gearing ratio (A/C)
Net gearing ratio (B/C)
Shareholders’ return on investment (D/C)
Shareholders’ return on investment excluding exceptionals (E/C)

2014 
US$’000

1,109,596
(176,791)

2013 
US$’000

453,896
(72,809)

932,805

381,087

1,359,873
(176,409)
137,409
0.816
0.686
(13%)
10%

1,484,709
189,604
191,416
0.306
0.257
13%
13%

28. Post balance sheet events
In February 2015, EnQuest announced that it had exited from its small investment in Tunisia. The transaction had been conditional on an 
appropriate response from the Tunisian authorities and with the backstop date for the transaction having passed without the required 
response, the parties elected not to extend. Potential consideration of $22 million had been kept in escrow, this was duly returned to 
EnQuest after the year end. 

In 2015, the Group renegotiated financial convenants under its RCF to provide greater flexibility for its capital investment programme. 
The net debt/EBITDA covenant has been increased to five times and the ratio of financial charges to EBITDA is reduced to three times, 
both until mid-2017.

117

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014NOTES TO THE GROUP FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2014

29. Subsidiaries
At 31 December 2014, EnQuest PLC had investments in the following subsidiaries:

Name of company

Principal activity

Country of 
incorporation

Proportion of 
nominal value 
of issued shares 
controlled by 
the Group

100%

100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%

100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100% 
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%

100%
100%
100%
100%
100%

England

England

EnQuest Britain Limited 

England
England
England
England
Canada

EnQuest Dons Limited(i)
EnQuest Dons Oceania Limited(i)
EnQuest Heather Limited(i)
EnQuest Thistle Limited(i)
Stratic Energy (UK) Limited(i)
Stratic UK (Holdings) Limited(i)
Grove Energy Limited 

Intermediate holding company and provision of Group 
manpower and contracting/procurement services
Exploration, extraction and production of hydrocarbons
Exploration, extraction and production of hydrocarbons Cayman Islands
Exploration, extraction and production of hydrocarbons
Extraction and production of hydrocarbons
Exploration, extraction and production of hydrocarbons
Intermediate holding company
Intermediate holding company and exploration 
of hydrocarbons
EnQuest ENS Limited(i)
Exploration, extraction and production of hydrocarbons
EnQuest UKCS Limited(i)
Exploration, extraction and production of hydrocarbons
EnQuest Norge AS(i)
Exploration, extraction and production of hydrocarbons
EnQuest Heather Leasing Limited(i)
Leasing
EQ Petroleum Sabah Limited(i)
Exploration, extraction and production of hydrocarbons
EnQuest Dons Leasing Limited(i)
Dormant
EQ Property Limited(i)
Property development
EnQuest Energy Limited(i) 
Exploration, extraction and production of hydrocarbons
EnQuest Production Limited(i)
Exploration, extraction and production of hydrocarbons
EnQuest Global Limited
Intermediate holding company
EnQuest NWO Limited(i)
Exploration, extraction and production of hydrocarbons
EQ Petroleum Production Malaysia Limited(i) Exploration, extraction and production of hydrocarbons
NSIP (GKA) Limited
EnQuest Global Services Limited(i)

England
England
Norway
England
England
England
England
England
England
England
England
England
Construction, ownership and operation of an oil pipeline Scotland
England
Provision of Group manpower and contracting/
procurement services for the International business
England
Marketing and trading of crude oil
England
Dormant
England
Dormant
Dormant 
England
Exploration, extraction and production of hydrocarbons Malaysia

EnQuest Marketing and Trading Limited
NorthWestOctober Limited(i)
EnQuest UK Limited(i)
EnQuest ED Limited(i)
EQ Petroleum Developments Malaysia 
SDN. BHD(i)

(i)  Held by subsidiary undertaking.

118

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014STATEMENT OF DIRECTORS’ RESPONSIBILITIES  
FOR THE PARENT COMPANY FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The Directors are responsible for keeping adequate accounting 
records that are sufficient to show and explain the Company’s 
transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the 
financial position of the Company and enable them to ensure that 
the Company financial statements comply with the Companies Act 
2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the 
Company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention 
and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The Directors are responsible for preparing the Directors’ Report 
and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law 
and regulations.

Company law requires the Directors to prepare financial statements 
for each financial year. Under that law the Directors have elected to 
prepare the financial statements in accordance with United 
Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United 
Kingdom Accounting Standards and applicable law). Under 
Company law the Directors must not approve the financial 
statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair 
view of the state of affairs of the Company and of the profit or loss 
of the Company for that period. In preparing the financial 
statements the Directors are required to:

 ` select suitable accounting policies and then apply them 

consistently;

 ` make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and 

prudent;

 ` state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been 
followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and 
explained in the financial statements; and

 ` prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis 
unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Company will 
continue in business. 

119

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014COMPANY BALANCE SHEET
AT 31 DECEMBER 2014

Fixed assets
Investments

Current assets
Debtors
  – due within one year
  – due after one year
Cash at bank and in hand 

Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

Net current assets

Total assets less current liabilities

Creditors: amounts falling due after one year

Net assets

Share capital and reserves
Called up share capital
Share premium account
Merger reserve
Other reserve
Share-based payment reserve
Profit and loss account

Note

2014 
US$’000

2013 
US$’000

3

1,358,737

1,349,177

5
5
4

8

9

10
11
11
11
11
11

13,355
706,390
1,468

721,213

224,681
–
668

225,349

(20,217)

(118,859)

700,996

106,490

2,059,733

1,455,667

(882,561)

(254,500)

1,177,172

1,201,167

61,249
52,184
905,890
40,143
(17,697)
135,403

61,249
52,184
905,890
40,143
(10,280)
151,981

1,177,172

1,201,167

The attached notes 1 to 15 form part of these Company financial statements.

The financial statements on pages 120 to 124 were approved by the Board of Directors on 18 March 2015 and signed on its behalf by:

Jonathan Swinney
Chief Financial Officer

120

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2014

1. Corporate information
The Company financial statements of EnQuest PLC (the Company) 
for the year ended 31 December 2014 were authorised for issue in 
accordance with a resolution of the Directors on 18 March 2015.

EnQuest PLC (EnQuest or the Company) is a limited liability 
Company registered in England and is the holding Company for the 
Group of EnQuest subsidiaries (together ‘the Group’). 

The Group’s principal activities are the exploration for, and 
extraction and production of, hydrocarbons in the UK Continental 
Shelf, Malaysia and the Norwegian North Sea.

2. Summary of significant accounting policies
Basis of preparation
The separate financial statements have been prepared in 
accordance with applicable UK Accounting Standards on a 
historical cost basis. The functional and presentation currency of 
the separate financial statements is United States Dollars and all 
values in the separate financial statements are rounded to the 
nearest thousand (US$’000) except where otherwise stated.

No profit and loss account is presented by the Company as 
permitted by Section 408 of the Companies Act 2006. The parent 
Company’s accounts present information about it as an individual 
undertaking and not about its group. EnQuest reported a loss for 
the financial year ended 31 December 2014 of US$16,578,000 
(2013: loss US$15,327,000). There were no other recognised gains 
or losses in the period (2013: nil).

Going concern concept
The Directors’ assessment of going concern concludes that the use 
of the going concern basis is appropriate and that there are no 
material uncertainties that may cast significant doubt about the 
ability of the Company to continue as a going concern. See pages 
42 and 43 in the Financial Review for further details.

Investments 
Investments are stated at cost less any provision for impairment.

Deferred tax
Deferred tax is recognised in respect of all timing differences that 
have originated but not reversed at the balance sheet date where 
transactions or events have occurred at that date that will result in 
an obligation to pay more, or a right to pay less, tax in the future.

Deferred tax assets are recognised only to the extent that it is 
considered more likely than not that there will be suitable taxable 
profits from which deferred tax is measured on an undiscounted 
basis at the tax rates that are expected to apply in the periods in 
which timing differences reverse based on tax rates and laws 
enacted or substantively enacted at the balance sheet date.

Amounts due from/to subsidiaries
Amounts due from/to subsidiaries are non-interest bearing 
short term and interest bearing long term funding to and from 
subsidiaries. These are recognised at the fair value of consideration 
received or paid. Amounts receivable are stated net of any 
provision for impairment.

Derivatives
Derivatives are initially recognised at fair value on the date 
a derivative contract is entered into and are subsequently 
remeasured at their fair value. The method of recognising the 
resulting gain or loss depends on whether the derivative is 
designated as a hedging instrument.

The Group categorises derivatives as follows:

Cash flow hedge
The effective portion of changes in the fair value of derivatives that 
qualify as cash flow hedges are recognised through the statement 
of total recognised gains and losses. The gain or loss relating to the 
ineffective portion is recognised immediately in the profit and loss 
account. Amounts accumulated in shareholders’ equity are 
transferred to the profit and loss account in the period when the 
hedged item will affect the profit or loss. When the hedged item no 
longer meets the requirements for hedge accounting, expires or is 
sold, any accumulated gain or loss recognised in shareholders’ 
equity is transferred to the profit and loss account when the 
forecast transaction which was the subject of the hedge occurs.

Derivatives that do not qualify for hedge accounting
When derivatives do not qualify for hedge accounting, changes in 
fair value are recognised immediately in the profit and loss account.

Employee Benefit Trust
EnQuest shares held by the Group are deducted from the share-
based payments reserve and are recognised at cost. Consideration 
received for the sale of such shares is also recognised in equity, 
with any difference between the proceeds from the sale and the 
original cost being taken to reserves. No gain or loss is recognised 
in the profit and loss account on the purchase, sale, issue or 
cancellation of equity shares.

Share-based payment transactions
Employees (including Directors) of the Group receive remuneration 
in the form of share-based payment transactions, whereby 
employees render services in exchange for shares or rights over 
shares (equity-settled transactions) of EnQuest.

Equity-settled transactions
The cost of equity-settled transactions with employees is measured 
by reference to the fair value at the date on which they are granted. 
In valuing equity-settled transactions, no account is taken of any 
service or performance conditions, other than conditions linked 
to the price of the shares of EnQuest (market conditions) or 
‘non-vesting’ conditions, if applicable.

The cost of equity-settled transactions is recognised over the 
period in which the relevant employees become fully entitled to the 
award (the vesting period). The cumulative expense recognised for 
equity-settled transactions at each reporting date until the vesting 
date reflects the extent to which the vesting period has expired and 
the Group’s best estimate of the number of equity instruments that 
will ultimately vest. The profit and loss account charge or credit for 
a period represents the movement in cumulative expense 
recognised as at the beginning and end of that period.

No expense is recognised for awards that do not ultimately vest, 
except for awards where vesting is conditional upon market or 
non-vesting conditions, which are treated as vesting irrespective 
of whether or not the market or non-vesting condition is satisfied, 
provided that all other performance conditions are satisfied. Equity 
awards cancelled are treated as vesting immediately on the date of 
cancellation, and any expense not recognised for the award at that 
date is recognised in the profit and loss account.

The Company operates a number of share award schemes on 
behalf of the employees of the Group which are described in detail 
within note 19 of the Group financial statements.

The reserve for the share-based payments is used to record 
the value of equity-settled share-based payments awarded to 
employees and transfers out of this reserve are made upon vesting 
of the original share awards.

121

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2014

3. Investments

Cost
At 1 January 2013
Additions 

At 31 December 2013
Additions 
Transfers
Write-off 

At 31 December 2014

Provision for impairment
At 1 January 2013
Impairment charge for the year

At 31 December 2013
Write-off of investment previously impaired

At 31 December 2014

Net book value
At 31 December 2014

At 31 December 2013

At 31 December 2012

Unlisted 
subsidiary 
undertakings 
US$’000

Other listed 
investments 
US$’000

1,448,371
75,998

1,524,369
8,914
(343)
(176,000)

808
–

808
–
989
–

Total 
US$’000

1,449,179
75,998

1,525,177
8,914
646
(176,000)

1,356,940

1,797

1,358,737

–
176,000

176,000
(176,000)

–

–
–

–
–

–

–
176,000

176,000
(176,000)

–

1,356,940

1,797

1,358,737

1,348,369

1,448,371

808

808

1,349,177

1,449,179

During the year ended 31 December 2014, the Company’s subsidiary EnQuest North Sea BV transferred its holding of shares in Ascent 
Resources plc at net book value. These are included within ‘other listed investments’. The Company also acquired subsidiary undertaking 
NSIP Limited, owner and operator of the Kittiwake to Forties oil export pipeline, as part of the Company’s acquisition of Greater Kittiwake 
Area assets from Centrica. On 16 December 2014, the Company transferred its investment in subsidiary EnQuest Norge Limited to EnQuest 
Global Limited, another subsidiary entity.

Additions during the year ended 31 December 2013 include US$67,805,000 of new shares issued by the Company’s subsidiary EnQuest 
Global Limited which is the holding company of the Group’s entities in Egypt and Malaysia.

On 25 November 2013 and 5 December 2013, the Company’s subsidiary EnQuest North Sea BV distributed, in total, US$176,000,000 of 
share premium through a reduction of the net intercompany receivable from EnQuest PLC. This has been accounted for as a dividend. The 
distribution of share premium in EnQuest North Sea BV resulted in a reduction in the subsidiary’s net assets, which created an impairment 
in the Company’s investment in the subsidiary in the year ended 31 December 2013. During 2014, EnQuest North Sea BV was dissolved and 
therefore the investment previously impaired was written off.

Details of the Company’s subsidiaries at 31 December 2014 are provided in note 29 of the Group financial statements.

The interest in other listed investments at the end of the year is part of the Group’s 11% investment in the ordinary share capital of Ascent 
Resources plc, which is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales.

4. Cash at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and in hand

2014 
US$’000

1,468

2013 
US$’000

668

Cash at bank earns interest at floating rates based on daily bank deposit rates.

The carrying value of the Company’s cash and cash equivalents as stated above is considered to be a reasonable approximation to their 
fair value.

122

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014 
 
5. Debtors

Due within one year
Amounts due from subsidiaries

Due after one year
Amounts due from subsidiaries

2014 
US$’000

2013 
US$’000

13,355

224,681

2014 
US$’000

2013 
US$’000

706,390

–

6. Deferred tax
The Company has unused UK mainstream corporation tax losses of US$16,623,000 (2013: US$2,481,000) for which no deferred tax asset has 
been recognised at the balance sheet date due to the uncertainty of recovery of these losses. 

7. Derivative financial instruments

Financial instruments at fair value through profit or loss
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
Derivatives not designated as hedges:
Commodity forward contracts

Total creditors: amounts falling due within one year

Total liabilities

2014 
US$’000

2013 
US$’000

–

–

–

–

3,704

3,704

3,704

3,704

Included within amounts falling due from/to subsidiaries are amounts relating to internal back to back derivatives with subsidiary entities for 
the above external derivatives (which are fair valued through profit and loss).

Full details of the Group’s financial risk management objectives and procedures can be found in note 27 of the Group financial statements. 
As the holding company for the Group, the Company faces similar risks over foreign currency and changes in oil prices.

The Company has taken advantage of the exemption under FRS 29 for parent Company accounts. The disclosures are included within the 
Group’s financial statements.

In October 2013, the Company entered three options on behalf of its subsidiary EnQuest Heather Limited in order to hedge the changes in 
future cash flows from the sale of Brent oil production in 2014. These instruments were deemed to be ineffective and are therefore 
designated as at fair value through profit and loss. Losses of US$3,704,000 were taken into profit and loss during the year.

8. Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

Bond interest
Amounts due to subsidiaries
Derivative financial instruments (note 7)
Accruals

9. Creditors: amounts falling due after one year

Bonds

2014 
US$’000

12,689
6,931
–
597

20,217

2013 
US$’000

4,291
110,096
3,704
768

118,859

2014 
US$’000

2013 
US$’000

882,561

254,500

In April 2014, the Group issued a US$650,000,000 high yield bond which matures in 2022 and pays a coupon of 7% bi-annually in April 
and October.

At 31 December 2014, the Company also held a 5.5% Sterling Retail Bond of £155,245,000. The original bond raised £145,000,000 with an 
additional £10,245,000 issued in November 2013. The bond pays a coupon of 5.5% payable bi-annually in February and August and 
matures in 2022.

123

STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIALSEnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014 
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2014

10. Issued share capital

Allotted, called up and fully paid 802,660,757 (2013: 802,660,757) Ordinary shares of £0.05 each

2014 
US$’000

 61,249

2013 
US$’000

61,249

At 31 December 2014 there were 29,691,691 shares held by the Employee Benefit Trust (2013: 25,510,520). The increase is due to the 
purchase of shares to satisfy awards made under the Company’s share-based incentive schemes.

11. Reserves

Share premium 
US$’000

Merger reserve 
US$’000

Other reserve 
US$’000

At 1 January 2014
Share-based payments charge
Loss for the year
Reclassification to merger reserve 
Shares purchased on behalf of Employee Benefit Trust

52,184
–
 –
 –
–

 905,890
 – 
 –
–
 –

40,143
–
 –
 –
 –

Share-based 
payments 
reserve 
US$’000

(10,280)
8,468
–
–
(15,885)

Retained 
earnings 
US$’000

 151,981
–
(16,578)
–
–

Total 
US$’000

1,139,918
8,468
(16,578)
–
(15,885)

At 31 December 2014

52,184

905,890

40,143

(17,697)

 135,403

1,115,923

Nature and purpose of other reserves
Share premium
The excess contribution over the nominal value on the issuance of shares is accounted for as share premium.

Merger reserve
The Company merger reserve is used to record the difference between the market value of EnQuest shares issued to effect the business 
combinations less the nominal value of the shares issued where merger relief applies to the transaction. The reserve is adjusted for any 
write down in the value of the investment in the subsidiary.

Other reserve
The other reserve is used to record any other transactions taken straight to reserves as non-distributable.

Share-based payments reserve
The reserve for share-based payments is used to record the value of equity-settled share-based payments awards to employees and the 
balance of the shares held by the Company’s Employee Benefit Trust. Transfers out of this reserve are made upon vesting of the original 
share awards.

Share-based payment plan information is disclosed in note 19 of the Group financial statements.

12. Transactions with Directors
Details of Directors’ remuneration are provided in the Directors’ Remuneration Report.

13. Related party transactions
The Company has taken advantage of the exemption in FRS 8 not to disclose transactions with its wholly owned subsidiaries. There were no 
other related party transactions during the year (2013: nil).

14. Auditor’s remuneration
The Company paid US$10,400 (2013: US$10,400) to its auditor in respect of the audit of the financial statements of the Company.

Fees paid to the Group’s auditor and its associates for non-audit services are not disclosed in the individual accounts of the Company 
because Group financial statements are prepared which are required to disclose such fees on a consolidated basis.

15. Post balance sheet events
Refer to note 28 of the Group financial statements.

124

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014 
COMPANY INFORMATION

Registered Office
Cunard House
5th Floor
15 Regent Street
London
SW1Y 4LR

Corporate Brokers
J.P. Morgan Cazenove
10 Aldermanbury
London
EC2V 7RF

Merrill Lynch International
2 King Edward Street
London
EC1A 1HQ

Auditor
Ernst & Young LLP
1 More London Place
London
SE1 2AF

Legal Advisers to the Company
Ashursts
Broadwalk House
5 Appold Street
London
EC2A 2HA

Corporate and Financial Public Relations
Tulchan Communications
85 Fleet Street
London
EC4Y 1AE

EnQuest PLC shares are traded on the London Stock Exchange 
and on the NASDAQ OMX Stockholm, in both cases using the 
code ‘ENQ’.

Registrar
Capita Registrars
The Registry
34 Beckenham Road
Beckenham
Kent BR3 4TU

Swedish Registrar
Euroclear Sweden AB
Box 191
101 23 Stockholm
Sweden

Financial Calendar
27 May 2015: 2015 Annual General Meeting
August 2015: 2015 Half Year Results

Glossary
For a full list of Company definitions, please visit
the Glossary in the media centre section of our 
website www.enquest.com.

Forward looking statements:
This report may contain certain forward looking statements with respect to 
EnQuest’s expectation and plans, strategy, management’s objectives, future 
performance, production, costs, revenues, reserves and other trend information. 
These statements and forecasts involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to 
events and depend upon circumstances that may occur in the future. There are a 
number of factors which could cause actual results or developments to differ 
materially from those expressed or implied by these forward looking statements 
and forecasts. The statements have been made with reference to forecast price 
changes, economic conditions and the current regulatory environment. Nothing in 
this report should be construed as a profit forecast. Past share performance cannot 
be relied on as a guide to future performance.

No representation or warranty, express or implied, is or will be made in relation to 
the accuracy or completeness of the information in this report and no responsibility 
or liability is or will be accepted by EnQuest PLC or any of its respective subsidiaries, 
affiliates and associated companies (or by any of their respective officers, employees 
or agents) in relation to it.

EnQuest PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2014

125

London, England
5th Floor, Cunard House
15 Regent Street
London, SW1Y 4LR
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)20 7925 4900
Fax: +44 (0)20 7925 4936

Aberdeen, Scotland
Level 5, Consort House
Stell Road
Aberdeen, AB11 5QR
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)1224 287000
Fax: +44 (0)1224 287105

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Level 12, Menara Maxis
Menara Maxis KLCC
off Jalan Ampang
50088 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
Tel: +60 323 021 888

Stavanger, Norway
PO Box 499 
4003 Stavanger 
Norway

Dubai, UAE
14th Floor, Office #1403
Arenco Tower
Dubai Media City
Dubai, UAE
Tel: +971 4 550 7100
Fax: +971 4 550 7111

For more information, please visit:
www.enquest.com