Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose to $448.5 million from $429.8 million a year earlier, topping the $440 million expected by analysts in a Reuters poll.

Lundin, 20 percent owned by Norway's Equinor, said it would pay a 2018 dividend of $500 million, or $1.48 per share, higher than the $1.10 per share expected by analysts.

Lundin will switch to quarterly dividend payments, with a plan of "maintaining or increasing the dividend over time in line with the company's financial performance and being sustainable below an oil price of $50 per barrel," it said.

North Sea oil currently sells at $61 per barrel.