Santos Posts Rise in Q1 Production, Revenue

Santos of Australia announced higher first quarter production and sales revenue, and strong progress on major projects.

Santos Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer David Knox said that the first quarter of 2014 saw the company build momentum for strong project delivery in the year ahead.

“The PNG LNG project is progressing ahead of schedule, with first LNG cargo expected for the middle of this year. The project is currently over 95% complete with first production of condensate from the Hides fields commencing in late March.”

“I am also pleased to report that GLNG continues to make good progress, remaining on budget and on track for first LNG in 2015. The project is now 80% complete, with all train 1 modules delivered to Curtis Island, all mainline pipeline in the ground, the marine crossing tunnel complete and the pipeline installed.”

“During the quarter, we also delivered the Peluang project in Indonesia ahead of schedule and on budget. Our other Asian project, the Dua oil project in Vietnam is progressing well and remains on track for first oil in mid-2014,” Knox said.

Santos ‘ first quarter production of 12.2 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe) was higher than the first quarter of 2013, with higher oil production due to the start-up of Fletcher Finucane in May 2013 offset by lower Western Australian gas production.

Sales revenue of $913 million for the March quarter was 28% higher than the corresponding quarter, primarily due to higher third-party crude oil sales.

Gas production of 50.6 petajoules (8.7 mmboe) was 4% lower than the corresponding quarter, with higher production from Darwin LNG and the Cooper Basin offset by lower production from the Carnarvon Basin due to lower customer nominations.

The average gas price of $5.66/GJ for the March quarter was 4% higher than the corresponding quarter.

Press Release, April 17, 2014; Image: Santos