Eni swings to profit as production grows

Italian energy giant and LNG player Eni on Friday reported a net profit of €18 million ($21 million) for the second quarter of 2017, compared to a €446 million loss in the corresponding period last year. 

Net profit for the first half of 2017 was €983 million, a substantial improvement over the comparative period last year when Eni reported a loss of €1.24 billion.

The first half trends were uneven with the net result almost entirely earned in the first quarter due to the volatility in crude oil prices, Eni said, adding that “uncertainties about the timing of recovery in market fundamentals” pegged the prices back during the second quarter.

The first half of 2017 benefitted from an overall 30 percent increase in the Brent crude oil price compared to the first half of 2016, production growth and the strong performance of the mid and downstream businesses due to contract renegotiations and the restructuring initiatives, Eni said.

Total production grew by around 200 kboe/d or over 6% year‐on‐year, continuing the upward trend seen in recent months.

The company confirmed its target of 0.8 bln boe of new resources for 2017 as well as the production target of 1.84 mln boe/d, up by 5 percent from 2016.

The target of reducing the capital expenditure by 18 percent year-on-year has also been confirmed, Eni said in its quarterly report.

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