Total’s profit lifted by record production, LNG sales drop

French energy giant and LNG player Total reported a rise in adjusted net income for the first quarter of 2018, as oil prices continued to rebound and production levels hit record highs. 

The company posted a 13 percent jump in adjusted net income from $2.6 billion in Q1, 2017 to $2.9 billion in the period under review.

Total’s LNG sales dropped 16 percent according to the company’s quarterly report, sliding from 2.99 Mt in the first quarter of 2017 to 2.5 Mt in the first quarter this year.

Speaking of the company’s performance in the first quarter, Total’s chairman and CEO Patrick Pouyanne, said, “first quarter production reached a record level of more than 2.7 Mboe/day, an increase of more than 5 percent from a year ago.”

The increase according to the CEO was due to ramp-ups of new projects, like Yamal LNG in Russia.

Going forward, the company is expecting a growth in production of over 6 percent “thanks to the start-ups and ramp-ups of new projects.” 

This is in line with the company’s target of an average production growth of 5 percent per year from 2016 to 2022.

Total also said it confirms its investment level for the year 2018 at $15-$17 billion.