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MedcoEnergi posts $96mn first-half loss

PERFORMANCE INDONESIAN oil and gas developer Med- (boepd), which Medco attributed to its acquisi-
coEnergi may have posted a first-half net loss of tion of Ophir Energy in June 2019.
$96mn, but the company remains upbeat about The company said its first-half oil and gas
the future and has said it will continue with its capital expenditure amounted to $120mn, deliv-
upstream investments. ering first production in July from the Meliwis
Medco said on October 3 that its profits from natural gas project in East Java as well as drill-
both its oil and gas division and its power seg- ing the Bronang-2 and Kaci-2 wells in the South
ment had been offset by losses at copper and Natuna Sea production-sharing contract (PSC)
gold mining subsidiary Amman Mineral Nusa in the first quarter. After both wells delivered
Tenggara (AMNT), oil price financial impair- commercial discoveries, the company drilled the
ments and losses on discontinued operations. successful Terubuk-5 exploration well.
The company reported a similar performance for Medco CEO Roberto Lorato said falling
the first quarter in August, when it said AMNT energy demand, owing to the coronavirus
had dragged the company to $20mn loss in the (COVID-19) pandemic, had driven oil prices
January-March period. below $30 per barrel in the second quarter, while
Oil and gas production climbed 5% year on also slashing gas demand to a “minimum”.
year to 101mn barrels of oil equivalent per day Lorato said: “In response to these extraordi-
nary circumstances, we have instigated work-
place safety protocols to protect our people and
ensure business continuity, reduced expendi-
tures by $200mn and revised 2020 production
guidance to 100-105mn boepd.”
The executive remained upbeat, however,
noting: “[A]s we anticipate better times ahead
our oil and gas segment will continue to invest
in exploration and value adding capital projects,
whilst Medco Power is completing its 275-MW
Riau CCGPP project.”™

Petron threatens to close

Philippines’ last refinery

PROJECTS & THE Philippines could be about to lose its last
COMPANIES refinery, after Petron warned that it was weigh-
ing up whether to close its 180,000 barrel per day
(bpd) facility in Bataan.
Petron CEO Ramon Ang said his company
had called on the government to bring refinery
operators’ taxes in line with those paid by fuel
importers, otherwise his company would have
no other option but to shutter the facility.
“For Petron Refinery, I will close that down if
talks with the government will not succeed,” Ang
said at a press conference on October 6.
Petron is under increasing financial pres-
sure, posting a first half net loss of PHP14.2bn
($293.2mn) compared with a PHP2.6bn
($53.7mn) net profit in the same period in 2019. depots, while refiners paid excise taxes on crude
The government’s work-from-home orders have and other raw material imports arriving in the
driven down demand for fuel, squeezing gross country as well as on the fuel produced.
refining margins (GRMs). “We are paying taxes upon arrival of crude
Ang argued that fuel importers only paid tax and we are paying so many taxes upon arrival.
on oil products that exited their terminals or We are in discussion with [Bureau of Customs]

P12 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 40 08•October•2020