Page 9 - AsiaElec Week 30

AsiaElec GAS-TO -POWER AsiaElec

Oil Search’s revenue

plunges 26% in Q2

AUSTRALIA SYDNEY-LISTED Oil Search saw its sec- tonnes per year in the second quarter compared
ond-quarter revenue plunge 26% quarter on with 8.7mn tpy in the previous period.
quarter owing to the oil price crash in March. Oil Search now expects production from its
Revenue for the April-June period amounted operated assets to amount to around 3-4mn boe,
to $266.2mn, down from the $359.4mn in the down from a previous guidance of 3-5mn boe.
first quarter, the company said on July 21. The This is owing to the suspension of gas and con-
result dragged the company’s first-half income to densate production at the Hides Gas-to-Elec-
$625.6mn from $777mn a year earlier. tricity (GTE) project, following the suspension
Weaker international oil and gas prices out- of operations at the Barrick (Niugini) operated
weighed production gains in the first half, with Porgera gold mine.
output climbing by 4% to 14.66mn barrels of oil Commenting on the troubled three-train
equivalent from 14.13mn boe in the same period expansion of PNG LNG, Oil Search said the
of 2019. PNG government’s talks with ExxonMobil on
Oil Search said the average realised price for terms that were “fair and balanced for all stake-
oil and gas condensate tumbled by 53% to $23.05 holders” had been wrapped up in May and that
per barrel in the April-June period from $49 per both sides had “re-engaged on the P’nyang gas
barrel in the first quarter. Average realised lique- agreement”.
fied natural gas (LNG) and gas prices fell by 19% However, the independent added: “Due to
from $9.08 per mmBtu ($276.6 per 1,000 cubic [coronavirus] COVID-19 and its impact on
metres) to $7.34 per mmBtu ($203.02 per 1,000 oil and gas prices, Total and ExxonMobil have
cubic metres), owing to a two-to-three month demobilised the majority of their LNG expan-
lag between oil prices flowing through to LNG sion technical and commercial staff.”
contract prices. The government said in February that it had
The company has maintained its 2020 pro- ended talks with ExxonMobil on the P’nyang
duction guidance at 27.5-29.5mn boe, but has project, which is located in the Western High-
adjusted the composition of said volume. lands, because it felt the terms were not attractive
Oil Search now expects the PNG LNG project enough for the country.
to deliver 24.5-25.5mn boe, up from a previously Under the proposed expansion, one train will
projected 24-25mn boe, owing to strong first- use gas from the P’nyang and other PNG LNG,
half production. The ExxonMobil-operated gas while two trains will use gas from the Total-led
export project, in which Oil Search owns a 29% Papua LNG project.™
interest, operated at an annualised rate of 8.8mn

Week 30 29•July•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P9