Australia's Santos Ltd. reported a 14% rise in sales revenue for the first quarter of 2017 on April 20, bolstered by a sharp increase in oil prices. The company also cut its breakeven costs further and made more progress on cutting debt.
Santos said its free cash flow breakeven has been cut to $34 per barrel (bbl), down 28% since the start of last year.
Revenue rose to $684 million in the March quarter from $600 million a year earlier, as average realized oil prices shot up by 56% to $57.60/bbl, offsetting a 13% drop in sales volumes to 18.6 MMboe.
Sales revenue beat a forecast of $643 million from Royal Bank of Canada, while the sales volume was roughly in line with RBC analysts' estimate.
While overall production fell, Santos highlighted an improvement at its troubled Gladstone LNG project, with gas volumes sold to the LNG plant jumping nearly 28%.
Santos cut net debt by $500 million from the end of last year to $3.1 billion, making progress on its target to reduce net debt by $1.5 billion by the end of 2019.
Recommended Reading
US Raises Crude Production Growth Forecast for 2024
2024-03-12 - U.S. crude oil production will rise by 260,000 bbl/d to 13.19 MMbbl/d this year, the EIA said in its Short-Term Energy Outlook.
Iraq to Seek Bids for Oil, Gas Contracts April 27
2024-04-18 - Iraq will auction 30 new oil and gas projects in two licensing rounds distributed across the country.
For Sale, Again: Oily Northern Midland’s HighPeak Energy
2024-03-08 - The E&P is looking to hitch a ride on heated, renewed Permian Basin M&A.
E&P Highlights: Feb. 26, 2024
2024-02-26 - Here’s a roundup of the latest E&P headlines, including interest in some projects changing hands and new contract awards.
Gibson, SOGDC to Develop Oil, Gas Facilities at Industrial Park in Malaysia
2024-02-14 - Sabah Oil & Gas Development Corp. says its collaboration with Gibson Shipbrokers will unlock energy availability for domestic and international markets.