Harbour Energy share price at risk amid new Keir Starmer threats

Harbour Energy (LON: HBR) share price has drifted upwards in the past few days even as the outlook of the energy market recoiled. The stock was trading at 250p on Monday, higher than this month’s low of 218p. It remains about 23% below the highest point this year and ~50% below the all-time high.

Keir Starmer to end North Sea exploration

Harbour Energy is a leading independent energy exploration company that has operations in the North Sea. It is a British company that also has operations in countries like Indonesia, Vietnam, Mexico, USA, and Mexico.

The biggest UK energy news was the announcement by Keir Starmer, the head of the Labour Party to stop exploration in the North Sea. In a statement, the leader said that the government will end new North Sea oil and gas exploration. The goal is to accelerate the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy.

This is a notable announcement considering that the North Sea creates over 200k UK jobs, with about 90k being in Scotland. Instead, the Labour government hopes to invest in clean energy projects like wind and solar energy.

Harbour Energy has been critical of UK’s government energy policies. Earlier this year, the company announced 350 layoffs, which it blamed for the country’s windfall taxes. 

Harbour Energy’s share price has dropped after the company downgraded its 2023 guidance. In a report published earlier this month, the company said that its 2023 production guidance will be between 185-200 kboepd, down from last year’s 208 kboepd. Its operation cost is expected to be at $16/boe, up from the previous $14/boe. 

Harbour Energy will also spend more money in capex this year even as oil and gas prices remains lower than where they were in 2022. It will spend $1.1 billion this year, down from the previous $0.9 billion.

Harbour Energy share price forecast

HBR chart by TradingView

The daily chart shows that the HBR stock price has been in a strong bearish trend in the past few months. This decline happened after the shares formed a double-top pattern at 481.30p. In price action analysis, this pattern is usually a bearish sign. It has recently dropped below the neckline of this pattern at 281p, the lowest level on July 5th.

The shares have also moved below the important support at 263.6p (July 2021 low). Therefore, the shares will likely continue falling as sellers target the next support level at 230p. A move above the resistance point at 263.6p will invalidate the bearish view.