Edinburgh-headquartered Capricorn Energy is eyeing further acquisitions after a “transformational” 2021 in which it re-entered profitable waters, boosted by its billion-dollar India tax refund.

The firm, formerly known as Cairn Energy, has reported a pre-tax profit for last year of $895 million (£683m), compared to a $394m pre-tax loss in 2020. It had seen its long-running Indian tax dispute resolved, resulting in a tax refund of $1.06 billion.

The upstream energy company also flagged its acquisition of Shell’s Western Desert production and exploration portfolio in Egypt, saying the asset has major potential for production growth, operating efficiencies, exploration resources and decarbonisation, with 2021 revenues from production in the country totalling $56m. Overall net cash generated from oil and gas production was $185m.

Capricorn Energy on acquisition trail after India tax refund buoys balance sheet