Australia’s Santos holds revenue steady as LNG output ramps up

MELBOURNE, April 22 (Reuters) -- Australia's Santos reported a 1% rise in first quarter revenue as it stepped up coal seam gas sales to its Gladstone liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant, offsetting a collapse in oil and gas prices.

Sales volumes in the March quarter rocketed 40% to 21.3 MMbbl of oil equivalent.

Revenue inched up to A$835 million from A$825 million in the period a year earlier, roughly in line with a forecast from RBC, as its average realized price fell 28%.

Train 1 at Gladstone LNG, which shipped its first cargo last October, produced at an annual rate of 3.8 MMtpy in the March quarter, and Santos said it expects to begin producing LNG from the second unit at Gladstone this quarter.

Santos' CEO, Kevin Gallagher, who took the reins in February, days after the company's shares hit a 23-year low, said he remained focused on how to position the company to withstand weak oil prices.

"We will continue to look for opportunities to lift productivity and reduce costs to drive long-term value for shareholders," he said in a statement.

The company reaffirmed it expects to sell between 76 and 83 MMbbl this year.

Shares in Santos have jumped more than 80% in recent months following a recovery in oil prices and are currently at a near six-month high at A$4.63.

(Reporting by Sonali Paul; Editing by Richard Pullin)

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