Motley Fool 16/11/15Ithaca Energy Shares in North Sea firm Ithaca are now nearly 60% above their 52-week low of 26p, but I think this company remains one of the better choices for an oil recovery play. Ithaca generated adjusted earnings of $98m and cash flow from on-going operations of $217m during the first nine months of the year. This compares well with last year, when cash flow for the first nine months of the year was $128m. Ithaca is benefiting from a strong hedging strategy. The firms operating costs per barrel of oil equivalent (boe) have also fallen sharply to $33 this year, down by 40% from last year. Ithaca expects costs to fall to $25/boe when production starts from its Stella field in Q2 2016. Its worth remembering that Ithacas recent $66m placing was carried out at 53p per share 29% above the current share price. This means that private investors can currently buy into Ithaca for much less than the placing price. Stella is likely to be the key to Ithacas success, in my view. If everything goes to plan from now on and there are no further cost overruns or delays, Ithaca could be a smart buy.