Santos Sales Hit Record High Despite Poor Gas Performance

摘要

Australia's largest natural gas producer, Santos, reported record sales revenues of A $3.6 billion (US$3.16 billion) for 2013 but owed its strong financial performance to higher crude oil production and third-party oil sales as it failed to make the most of rising gas output and prices in the east of the country. Up 12% from 2012, the higher revenues came despite a 2% gas-driven fall in total production to 51 million barrels of oil equivalent (140,000 boe per day). Gas output dipped on almost all the Adelaide-based company's assets in eastern Australia, and by 1.7 million boe overall to 36.6 million boe (100,000 boe/d), dragging down associated condensate production in the process. Crude production, on the other hand, rose by 8.4% from a year earlier to 28,000 b/d, mainly thanks to the start-up of the Fletcher-Finucane project offshore Western Australia last May (IOD May21'13).