InterOil Net Profit Climbs (USA)

InterOil Corporation today said that its 2011 net profit was $17.7 million compared with a net loss of $44.5 million for the same period in 2010.

Fourth Quarter 2011 Highlights and Recent Developments

• During the fourth quarter, InterOil completed two Heads of Agreements (HOA) on long-term LNG supply for its proposed LNG project in Papua New Guinea, bringing the total of its three HOAs to 3.3 to 3.8 million tonnes per annum (mtpa). While not binding, these HOAs set out the basis upon which the parties intend to negotiate and document terms for the purchase and sale of LNG.

• Exploration activities continued across our three Petroleum Prospecting Licenses (PPLs) in PNG during the quarter. Seven dip lines were acquired to further delineate the Wahoo and Mako prospects and identify potential drilling locations. Processing and interpretation of the data is ongoing. A third phase of seismic data acquisition, which consists of two dip orientated lines totaling 21 kilometers in length over the Tuna prospect and Wahoo/Mako prospects, commenced on December 22, 2011. Line preparation is currently in progress.

• Net profit for the year ended December 31, 2011 was $17.7 million compared with a net loss of $44.5 million for the same period in 2010, an improvement of $62.2 million. The operating segments of Corporate, Midstream Refining and Downstream collectively returned a net profit for the year of $82.3 million. The development segments of Upstream and Midstream Liquefaction yielded a net loss of $64.6 million.

• Subsequent to the quarter end, on January 17th, 2012, InterOil announced that the Triceratops-2 delineation well had been spudded. The Triceratops-2 well is an appraisal well to test the presence of hydrocarbons and determine whether a potential reefal carbonate reservoir exists in the Triceratops field.

InterOil’s Chief Executive Officer Phil Mulacek commented, “We continue to work with our existing LNG development partners and the PNG government to advance our LNG project towards first production. Simultaneously, our advisors are managing the process of soliciting and evaluating proposals from potential strategic LNG partners. If a strategic partner is selected, we expect that such a partner would assist with accelerating the LNG project’s capacity growth. Our delineation drilling at Triceratops has the potential to add to our substantial resource estimate at Elk and Antelope, and provide back-up supply for increasing LNG capacity. Our prospect inventory is maturing and we anticipate that it will support our goal of a multi-year, multi-well exploration program. We believe that these achievements, combined with our strong balance sheet, support our continued growth and operational success.”

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LNG World News Staff, March 19, 2012