Repsol shows Europe that heavy oil pays

摘要

The Spanish energy firm beat quarterly profit forecasts for 2Q thanks to unexpected strength in its downstream business, particularly refining. Repsol recurring net profit adjusted for one-time gains and inventory effects was down by 2.7% from year-ago levels to ?390MM ($524MM), but well north of die average forecast of analysts polled by Reuters of ?296MM ($398MM). Repsol said refining margins were up 19.2% from year-ago level to $3.10/bbl as the company increased the processing of cheaper heavy crudes from Canada and Mexico. An Intermoney analyst commented, "US refineries are using more light crude and this has helped the spread for heavier crudes used by Repsol." Besides an uptick in its refining business, Repsol also noted that its chemicals arm also saw positive growth on the quarter, and in a reversal its quarterly profits were dragged down by adjusted net income from its upstream division being halved from 2Q 2013 levels to ?145MM ($195MM) as output on the quarter was down 5.8% to 338K boe/d. The drop in upstream output and earnings was attributed to continued unrest in Libya, where Repsol holds oil and gas assets.