Seplat Doubles Gas Sales Despite Snag
Seplat Petroleum, the Nigeria-focused producer listed in London and Lagos that is part-owned by France's Maurel & Prom, made a 1Q 2016 loss after tax of $19mn because of damage at an oil export terminal.
But it said April 29 it had nonetheless managed to increase gas sales to the local market.
Equity production was down 5% year-on-year at 34,179 barrels oil equivalent/day, "reflective of the shut-in and suspension of oil exports at the Forcados terminal [in Nigeria] from mid-February onwards as a result of damage to pipeline infrastructure at the loading arm."
Seplat said it continued to produce and sell gas into the domestic market and is now "better positioned to withstand such interruptions than in prior years"; its equity 1Q 2016 gas production was 100.7mn ft3/d (equivalent to 1.04bn m3/yr), up 113% year-on-year -- or 224mn ft3/d on a gross basis.
Gas revenues increased by 145% year-on-year to $27mn "as the step-change in gas production arising from the Oben gas plant expansion, and higher pricing, continue to take effect." The average gas price realised in 1Q 2016 was $2.92/mn Btu ($2.98/'000 ft3), up 15% year-on-year. The price it achieved in full year 2015 was $2.50/mn Btu.
Seplat CEO Austin Avuru said a temporary oil export solution with oil offtaker Mercuria, albeit at reduced levels from the Warri refinery jetty, "will enable us to de-constrain gas sales into the domestic market back to normalised levels." Much of onshore Niger Delta gas production is associated with oil.
Mark Smedley