Total’s profit drops, LNG sales more than double

French energy giant and LNG player Total saw its adjusted net profit drop in the second quarter as well as the first half of the year 2019. 

Total recorded a $2.9 billion adjusted net profit in the second quarter of 2019, 19 percent below the corresponding quarter last year. For the first half of the year, Total’s adjusted net profit reached $5.6 billion, 12 percent down on the first six months of 2018, the company’s report shows.

Commenting on the results, Total’s chairman and CEO Patrick Pouyanne said, “markets remained volatile with Brent averaging $69/b in the second quarter, and increase of 9 percent compared to the previous quarter, but natural gas prices were down 36 percent in Europe and 26 percent in Asia.”

He added that despite this, with a slight increase in production to 2.96 Mboe/d, adjusted net income rose 5 percent from the previous quarter.

Total’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) sales more than doubled compared to 2018 for the second quarter and the first six months. This was due to the start-up of Yamal LNG trains 2 and 3 in Russia, Ichthys LNG in Australia, the first Cameron LNG train in the United States and the acquisition of LNG contracts from Engie in 2018.

LNG sales reached 8.5 Mt in the second quarter, which compares to 3.9 Mt in the corresponding quarter last year and 7.7 Mt in the previous quarter.

For the first six months of the year, LNg sales reached 16.2 Mt which compares to 7.7 Mt in the first half of 2018.

Total expects its production growth to exceed 9 percent in 2019 due to the ramp-up of projects started in 2018 as well as the start-ups in the first half of 2019.

It noted in its statement that it is continuing to take advantage of the favorable cost environment to sanction new projects, one of which was the Arctic LNG 2 project in Russia’s Arctic.