Origin hikes LNG earnings forecast amid strong output at new plant

MELBOURNE, April 29 (Reuters) -- Origin Energy on Friday more than doubled its outlook for earnings from liquefied natural gas (LNG) this year, saying the first unit at its Australia Pacific LNG plant was producing at above its rated capacity of 4.5 MMtpy.

APLNG, operated by ConocoPhillips, shipped 11 cargoes in the March quarter, mostly going to China's Sinopec, and is set to start exporting from its second production unit between July and December, Origin said.

The extra volume adds to an already oversupplied global LNG market, with spot prices in Asia down 36% so far this year.

"Given the strong operational performance of Train 1 since shipment of the first LNG cargo on Jan. 9, Origin expects to recognise Train 1 revenue from March 1 2016," it said in its quarterly report.

It now expects underlying LNG earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the year to June 2016 of between A$100 million and A$150 million, well above an earlier forecast between A$30 million and A$80 million.

Origin reported a 45% rise in March quarter revenue to A$316.4 million ($241.8 million) from a year earlier on the back of first sales from the APLNG project.

Production rose 65% to 60.9 petajoules.

($1 = 1.3084 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Sonali Paul; Editing by Joseph Radford)

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