Acquisitions lead to 39% surge in PTTEP's nine-month profit
PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited (PTTEP) reported a strong performance in the first nine months of the year with a 39 per cent surge in net profit year on year to US$1.185 billion (Bt37.182 billion).
The company posted US$ 851 million (Bt27,372 million) in net profit for the same period last year.
In a statement today (October 30), president and chief executive officer Phongsthorn Thavisin, said the company generated total revenue of US$4.572 billion for the first three quarters, increasing by 15 per cent from US$3.960 billion year on year as a result of a 12-per cent rise in average sales volume to 335,696 barrels of oil equivalent per day (BOED), compared to 300,338 BOED for the same period last year.
The increase in average sales volume was attributed to the purchase of additional stake in the Bongkot field in mid-2018 and the acquisition of Murphy Oil Corporation's business in Malaysia, completed in July 2019.
The average sales price also slightly improved to US$46.83 per barrel of oil equivalent (BOE), from US$46.25 in the same period of 2018.
Meanwhile, unit cost dipped to US$ 30.86 BOE from US$31.28 BOE in the first nine months of 2018.
In the third quarter of 2019, PTTEP reported a net profit of US$358 million (Bt11,019 million), an increase of 14 per cent year on year from US$315 million (Bt10,401 million), partly driven by higher average sales volume through the acquisition of Malaysia Asset.
Phongsthorn said: "The company's strong performance in the 9-month period reflects the successful acquisition in Malaysia in accordance with company's strategic investment plan. The result is demonstrated by growing average sales volume towards the year's target of 345,000 BOED. Furthermore, once the acquisition of Partex Holding, which focuses its investment in the Middle East, is completed, sales volume will further increase. In addition, the acceleration of exploration activities in Malaysia such as Block SK410B will potentially increase the company's petroleum reserves and production volumes in the future".
In June this year, PTTEP made its largest gas discovery at the first well in Block SK410B at "Lang Lebah-1RDR2". It is now preparing an appraisal well to confirm the upside petroleum potential, along with a study for development.
In 2020-2021, PTTEP plans to accelerate exploration activities offshore to assess overall petroleum potential and evaluate appropriate development plan.
