Oil Search’s production up

OIL Search says its oil production is up 14 per cent on the first quarter of this year – the highest level since the 2018 earthquake in the highlands.
According to Oil Search’s second quarter report for this year, total production was 7.29 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe).
It included 6.40mmboe from the PNG LNG project, which produced at an annualised rate of 8.8MTPA (million tonnes per annum) during the period, and 0.89mmboe from Oil Search-operated assets.
Managing director Dr Keiran Wulff said: “Combined with continued strong production from the ExxonMobil-operated PNG LNG project, Oil Search is on track to achieve its production targets in 2020, despite the shut-in of the Hides gas-to-electricity (GTE) project during the quarter due to the suspension of operations at the Porgera gold mine.”
Meanwhile, total hydrocarbon sales for the quarter were 6.79mmboe, similar to sales in the first quarter of 2020.
There were four LNG cargoes on the water at the end of the period, worth around US$30 million (K101.6 million) in revenue to Oil Search.
Total revenue generated from hydrocarbons declined 27 per cent to US$258 million (K873.84 million), reflecting the material fall in oil prices and a higher proportion of LNG sold on the spot market.
The average oil and condensate price realised during the second quarter was US$23.05 (K77.9) per barrel, down 53 per cent on the prior quarter. The average realised LNG and gas price fell 19 per cent to US$7.34 (K 24.86) per million British thermal units (mmBtu), supported by the two-to-three month lag between oil prices flowing through to LNG contract prices.