APLNG revenue down in July-September

Australia Pacific LNG (APLNG) project's commodity revenue in the July-September quarter (Q1) came in at A$2.34bn ($1.48bn), down 5% quarter/quarter on lower realised LNG prices. Origin Energy, one of the partners in the project, announced on October 31. The revenue was also down 15% year/year.

APLNG's average LNG price in Q1 was $11.62/mn Btu, down 17% year/year and 5% quarter/quarter. APLNG, a joint venture comprising Origin, ConocoPhillips, and China's Sinopec, is Australia's largest producer of coalbed methane (CBM) and supplies gas to Queensland's domestic gas market, while also processing CBM into LNG for exports.

Origin's revenue from its stake in APLNG dropped to A$553mn in Q1 from A$581mn a year earlier.

Origin is in the process of being taken over by a consortium comprising Brookfield Asset Management and MidOcean Energy, a unit of EIG. Earlier this month, the deal was approved by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

Under the deal, Brookfield would acquire Origin's energy markets business and MidOcean would acquire the integrated gas business including a 27.5% interest in Queensland-based APLNG.

However, the takeover looks in doubt after the company's largest shareholder, AustralianSuper, on October 31 said it would reject the buyout offer as it was "substantially below" its estimate of long-term value for Origin.