Oil Search profit jumps to K980 million

By LEMACH LAVARI
Oil Search Ltd made an after-tax net profit of K986 million last year, according to company chairman Rick Lee.
He said this at the company’s annual meeting at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Port Moresby on Friday.
“The net profit in 2017 was more than three times higher than the levels of 2016,” Lee said.
“This reflected not only the highest oil and gas production in Oil Search’s history but also a recovery in the global oil and gas prices.”
He said the average oil price last year was nearly US$56 (K183) per barrel which was 24 per cent higher than US$42 (K137) in 2016.
The average realised LNG price increased by 17 per cent to US$7.67 per million thermal unit (Btu) from about US$ 6.36 per million Btu.
Lee said this was a reflection of the PNG LNG project’s performance.
The LNG production last year of 8.3 million tonnes was 20 per cent above plant capacity.
The company’s total dividend for last year was US$0.095 or 20 toea per share. This was nearly three times the previous year’s share of US$0.035 per share.
Lee said final dividends for 2017 and future dividends paid solely from PNG-LNG profits were exempt from dividend-withholding tax in accordance with the PNG LNG Gas Agreement.