North Sea oil producer EnQuest to ramp up 2016 output by a third

LONDON, Dec 8 (Reuters) - North-Sea focused oil producer EnQuest (LSE: ENQ.L - news) will ramp up oil production by a third next year as new fields increase output, the company said on Tuesday.

The oil producer, which specialises in maximising oil output from old fields by applying new technology that allows it to retrieve resources that are hard to reach, expects to produce between 44,000-48,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day (boepd) next year, up from 33,000-36,000 boepd this year.

Facing continually weak oil prices, EnQuest said it would reduce operating costs to $26-28 per barrel in 2016 by taking measures including scaling its maintenance schedule and reducing contractor pay. It (Other OTC: ITGL - news) expects capital spending of $700-750 million on next year.

The oil producer also said it had hedged 10 million barrels of its 2016 production, a strategy to shield itself from a further decline in oil prices.

(Reporting by Karolin Schaps)