PNG LNG Lifts Oil Search's First Half Profit 34%
Oil Search on Tuesday said its first half profit stood at $152.5 million, 34% higher than in the corresponding period of 2013, driven primarily by earnings contribution from the PNG LNG Project.
Total oil and gas production rose 68% on the same period of 2013, to 5.4 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe), while total sales were 4.7 mmboe, including 1.3 mmboe of LNG and condensate from the PNG LNG Project.
Revenue rose 34% to $510.0 million, driven by first sales from the PNG LNG Project, which started LNG production in June and shipped first gas to Japan in May.
“The commencement of revenue streams from the PNG LNG Project signals the start of Oil Search’s corporate transformation. Production is expected to be significantly higher in the second half of the year, now that the PNG LNG Project production ramp-up phase is complete. In 2015, the first full year of operations, the Project is expected to add approximately 21 mmboe net to Oil Search, resulting in total production more than four times 2013 levels,” company Managing Director, Peter Botten, said.
Another key event during the period was Oil Search’s acquisition in March of an interest in PRL 15 in the onshore Papuan Gulf Basin, which contains the Elk/Antelope gas fields, Botten stated.
“An appraisal programme on this resource, which has the potential to underwrite another major LNG development in PNG, will start soon. Together with potential expansion of the PNG LNG Project, PRL 15 provides Oil Search with a second, commercially attractive, LNG development opportunity and an extremely strong platform for future growth,” he added.
According to Botten, one of Oil Search’s key objectives for 2014 is to determine how much further gas is available in its PNG licence portfolio, to provide gas feedstock for additional LNG production.
“Oil Search has extensive interests in two major gas hubs, the NW Highlands and the Papuan Gulf Basin, both of which have the potential to underpin the next phase of LNG development,” he said.